When the Knocking Starts it Never Stops
by RAReid
Summary: The war is over and Arendelle has been rebuilt, but the blood they've split in the past still spills in their dreams. Within the aftermath of destruction, the cracked and fractured people who dwell within the city walls have to learn to live with what happened and move on. But can they heal when trouble continues to brew, and can they save themselves from the ramifications? Elsanna
1. Some Doors Just Don't Close

**A/N:** This was originally posted on Archive of Our Own

**Important:** This is the **sequel** based two years after the events of _When War Comes Knocking_, so if you try to read this without reading that first you're going to be awfully confused.

Second note: I've named Jasper's nation (for easier reference). It's called Iloa (it's i-l, not LL or ii).

* * *

Anna watches the city from the outlying hills astride her snowy, ice-armoured horse. The summer sun beams down and sparkles over the completely renovated Arendelle, but snow from the little cloud above her—to keep her horse, Leo, from melting—settles lazily on her shoulders.

As Anna watches the quiet town, her senses are assaulted by phantom outlines of ships firing at each other, the roar of launching catapults and the cries of engaging ground forces. She sees the town as it was – broken, destroyed and struggling to keep its head above water.

Hissing, Anna squeezes her eyes shut and pinches the bridge of her nose. Hard.

Leo, sensing his master's distress, whines and slams an icy hoof into the ground.

"It's okay." Anna murmurs, absently patting Leo's ice armoured neck with her free hand.

Anna, her hair in its regular twin braids, dons black leather boots and breeches, a loose tunic with the sleeves rolled up and riding gloves. Her two sheathed ice swords adorn Leo's flanks, nearly blending in if you are unaware that they're there.

Anna's protectors—two giant snow tigers with ice armour—sit on either side of Leo. Lila and May—the tiger's names—are Anna's personal guards and war asset. They follow her everywhere, defend her and obey her every command. The reason she has them is because she had outright refused to have people following her and watching her every move; letting them witness how broken she really is. So Elsa decided to give Anna two snow creatures who love her and care for her – to give her safety without the complicated human element.

That's why Anna has Leo. All the other horses were skittish around the tigers, almost as tall as Anna's shoulders, so Elsa made her a warhorse. It was done out of love, of course, but also out of concern. Elsa knows that if Anna wants to leave the castle—or the city entirely—she just will, so Elsa merely did her best to supply the younger girl with everything she needed to keep safe.

Sighing heavily through her nose and dropping her hand, Anna glances at the two little flurry clouds by her sides and then to the one hovering above her head. She twitches a smile. It must be quite comical to see three little snowing clouds in the middle of summer.

_No_. Anna amends, her smile fading and her eyes going dark.

The kingdom's borders are guarded by snow creatures, and creatures of the like are as common a sight as pedestrians within the city. Along with ice that never melts used as warships, weapons and fortifications, wintery sights in summer are as common as can be in Arendelle.

Even though it's been two years since the attacking nations left, the horror and destruction they left in their wake has scarred Arendelle forever, and this is what it has become; a nation ready for war. A nation preventing war. A nation _scared_ of war.

Anna flips her hand and stares at her glove covered palm. How much blood did she spill? How many people did she slaughter? How many resultant lives did she ruin? How many mothers, fathers and children never came home?

Paling visibly, Anna slowly moves her hand away and gingerly takes the reins. If she could see her knuckles she knows they'd be white with how hard they grip the leather controls, but she doesn't loosen her hold. She can't – not with the ache currently suffocating her chest.

She had fought because she had to, she knows that, but living with the consequences is deeming a harder task then she was prepared for.

"What a warrior princess I turned out to be, huh?" Anna asks quietly, her eyes drifting back to Arendelle. Lila turns to her and cocks her head, a soft comforting purr rumbling in her throat. Anna glances at the tiger and smiles softly, but the broken edge still shows. An edge Anna isn't sure will ever truly go away.

May stands and turns to the flank, her body curling up and a deep growl rolling off her tongue.

Anna glances over her shoulder and listens for what May heard. It takes a while—the snow animal's hearing is far better than hers—and by the time she does hear Lila has joined her shield sister, the pair already preparing for a defensive maneuver.

"Shh." Anna says, absently calming the beasts as she determines the source of their disgruntle. Smiling as Kristoff and Sven come into view, Anna waves her beasts back to their original stations. They look displeased, but—recognizing the royal ice harvester—obey nonetheless.

Kristoff smiles crookedly and jumps off Sven, landing gawkily. Sven moves to lick the snowflakes falling above Lila. Lila glares. Sven freezes and turns to Kristoff, asking for help. The man shrugs helplessly.

Smiling easily, Anna swings her leg over her horse with a practiced ease and jumps elegantly to the ground. She shoves a thumb over her shoulder as she turns to walk closer to the embankment. "Eat Leo's snowflakes." She says. Sven's tongue lolls happily and he trots over to do just that. May and Lila look less than pleased but do nothing to stop it from happening.

Kristoff smiles, shaking his head at his reindeer's antics. Turning, he makes his way to Anna. He easy takes his place beside her and looks out at the city he never thought he'd be able to see again.

"Beautiful, isn't she?" Kristroff asks, admiring the view. Anna hums a soft affirmative. Kristoff gives Anna a sidelong glance, eying the normally talkative girl. Noticing, Anna glances to the man and twitches a forced smile. Kristoff frowns.

Anna knows Kristoff wants answers—he has since he came back a year and a half ago—but she just . . . isn't put together enough to give him any. She doesn't know if she ever will be.

Kristoff turns back to the city, his eyes flickering over the entry of the fjord. He twitches a smile.

"Do you remember when you and Elsa stormed our ship?" He asks. Anna barks a surprised laugh.

"Of course I do; the look on your face was hilarious!"

Kristoff crosses his arms over his chest in playful indignation. "Firstly, it was scary as hell with you two screaming; 'these are restricted waters, identify yourselves immediately' with weapons and magic rearing to go. I thought you were going to kill us!" Anna winces, her humour fading instantly. Kristoff swallows thickly, but soldiers on. "Secondly, if I do recall, the moment you saw me you dropped your swords and gaped."

Anna purses her lips, her eyes flicking to the horizon in thought. Of course she remembers. Her swords had clattered loudly on the deck, which scared the shit out of Elsa – who instantly whipped around, hell-bent on slaughtering the assailant. Upon seeing the boat was full of Arendelle citizens, however—not all of them, but a huge handful of them—they'd both broke down crying and were reduced to blubbering messes. It was a joyous day, certainly, but there's no way to describe their reactions with any sort of poise.

"To exclude the fact that the remaining royal family completely lost themselves in front of a random crew and a deck-full of citizens, yeah." Anna says, a frown tugging at her lips. Kristoff shrugs.

"Personally I felt relieved. To go from ambushing our ship to weeping in happiness at our return confirmed for me that this is where I belonged." He chuckles. "That, and Corona has no ice so I didn't really have a job. Granted, I wasn't sure if I'd have a job when I returned because of Elsa, but that's beside the point." Anna laughs.

"She'd never affect one's livelihood unless she had no other choice." Anna says, smiling kindly.

Elsa only uses her powers for Arendelle's defense. She never uses her magic for any domestic affairs, which pretty much summarises every purpose Kristoff got contracted for in the first place. So since ice was never bought for the purposes Elsa uses her powers for, the ice business wasn't actually affected at all – much to the surprise and delight of the ice harvesters.

To two fall into silence. Anna can tell Kristoff wants to say something, but his nervous fidgeting tells her that it may not be something she'll want to hear.

In the end her curiosity wins out, but with an all too present caution that doesn't go unnoticed.

"Let me hear it." Anna says, wiping sweat from her brow. Without Leo's snow cloud over her the day is almost uncomfortably warm.

_Then again_—Anna thinks with a frown—_I've also been heavily conditioned to the cold._

As much as Anna loves summer—and she does with every fibre of her being—she's been training herself with ice for so long that, until she readjusts to the heat, summer days are just too hot for her.

"Uh, okay. Right." Kristoff says, shifting and clearing his throat uncomfortably. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to, but I've been wondering . . . would you kill again? If you had to, I mean."

Anna muscles go rigid so fast she swears she gives herself whiplash. Kristoff winces, regretting his words immediately.

Anna clears her throat, an awkward lump settling on her vocals cords. It just had to be something like that, didn't it? Tears misting her eyes, Anna covers her mouth with a fist and clears her throat again, more violently this time. Kristoff cringes, his face twisting in a grimace.

"Sorry." He says, guilt ridden. "Let's talk about something else. Oh, Sven and I meet one of the patrol golems today. Good thing I brought the Ice Master and Deliverer medal with me or I think he would have arrested me or something. Anyway, after he – wait, do snow creatures even have genders or do we assign them? Whatever, not important. After the big guy figured out who we where he was as kind as a big 'ol teddy bear; he even let Sven scamper around him and catch the snowflakes of his flurry. It was—"

"I'm sorry." Anna says, her face contorting in pain. Kristoff holds out his hands to pacify the girl.

"No, no – it's my fault. I shouldn't of—"

"That's not what I mean." Anna says, gritting her teeth. "I'm sorry because I know what you want to hear . . . but I can't give you that answer."

Kristoff's encouraging words die on his tongue. He stares at the princess with wide, unbelieving eyes.

"What?"

Anna winces. "If it comes to it, I would . . . I would ki—" She swallows thickly. "I don't want to, and if it's up to me I'll never do it or anything like it ever again . . . but if I had to, if I had no other choice – I would." She hisses and squeezes her eyes shut, pushing the heel of her hand into her forehead. "Gods forbid I ever have to, because I know if I do it'll tear me apart in unfathomable ways and leave catastrophic physiological damage. I'm only one screw away from being a complete nut case as it is, but if I had to protect Elsa or Arendelle . . . Goddess preserve me – I'd kill as many people as I could before my conscious could catch up with me."

Anna staggers and leans against a tree. She clenches her jaw and sinks to the ground as echoed battles from the past batter her senses. Her breath comes in shallow wheezes and her heart flutters painfully in her chest. She holds out a hand for Kristoff to stay away. When her body starts to shake and a familiar vice grip crushes her lungs, Anna knows she's spiraling.

She's having a panic attack.

Her mind immediately grabs the only thing that can calm her down. Elsa.

Gripped sheets. Arched backs. Hot breath. Called names. Clutched skin. Deep moans. Twining tongues. Screamed release. Quaking muscles. Saliva trails. Push deep. Bit skin. Fierce kisses. Pulled hair.

Anna's breath hitches in her throat, her panic-flushed cheeks now deepening with want. Clearing her throat and letting her legs fall wide in a very unladylike fashion, she fans her face with her hands. Kristoff's face is a mix between being thoroughly impressed and completely baffled.

"Wow. Just . . . wow. You recovered before you even fell this time." He says. Registering her rosy skin, he immediately runs to Sven and comes back with a water skin, kneeling in front of the princess to hand it over. "That must have taken a lot out of you, especially in this weather."

Anna nods and gratefully takes the water, throwing it back and downing half of it before pulling it away with a gasp. She laughs and wipes the water trails from her chin.

"Thanks." Anna says, a genuine smile crossing her lips and creasing the corners of her eyes. Kristoff grins, thankful for the uplifted mood, and takes back the water skin. He flops back on his rear and slings on arm over his knee, taking a swig of the water and sending Anna a lazy smile.

"I'm glad you're getting better at that. I have no idea how you've managed to fend off your turmoil by yourself, but I'm glad you have."

Anna grins and winks. "Passion overpowers panic." Kristoff frowns. Anna's grin widens and a hint of mischief flashes in her eyes. "I've learned from my many endeavors with Elsa that my brain shuts right off once she's in my pants." Kristoff chokes on spit. Anna's grin softens to a smile and she looks out to the city. "Essentially it's like overpowering fear with love. The images are especially lewd, but they need to be. Post traumatic stress and panic attacks are everything you fear and regret and, with the latter, the events are blown far out of proportion. In order to deal with an extreme, you need to combat it with an extreme. Panic makes your mind blank with fear; sex with someone you love makes your head blank with euphoria. So, if you think about it, it's not really as strange as it sounds."

Kristoff swirls the water skin in his hand. There are so many things he can say, but not many that can keep the mood as light as it's become. So, flashing Anna his 'okay, whatever' smile, he says:

"Yeah, because thinking about having sex with your girlfriend is perfectly normal during a panic attack."

Anna roars with shocked laughter. She rips a hunk of grass from the ground and chucks it at Kristoff's face. Kristoff sputters and bats at the gravel threatening his eyes.

"You threw dirt at me!" He cries, his eyes still squeezed shut as he still attempts to wipe away the soil. Anna barks a laugh.

"That's your fault for mocking the princess!"

"You were talking about having sex with the _queen_, what the hell was I suppose to do?"

"Be comforting then pretend you never heard anything." Anna says, a devilish smirk spreading over her lips.

Kristoff—dirt smeared over his face—finally opens his eyes and gives Anna a displeased gaze. "For being a princess, you don't really act like a lady." Anna snorts.

"Pfft." Anna airs, rolling her eyes and waving her hand dismissively. An easy smile adorns her face as she leans her head back against the tree she's sitting at and closes her eyes. She takes in a deep breath and lets out a content sigh. "Gods, I've missed summer."

The relaxed state of the princess, something Kristoff hasn't seen in a long time, spreads an affectionate smile over his lips.

"I'm glad it's here, then." He whispers. Without opening her eyes Anna gives Kristoff a grateful smile, letting herself drift with the sun beaming scattered patterns across her face.

* * *

Elsa sighs softly through her nose and gingerly sets the letter of resignation on her desk.

"Are you sure?" She asks, looking to the person standing on the other side of the table. Gerta smiles faintly.

"I'm afraid so. The events of war have worn heavily on my old bones, and it's about time I move on."

"Gerta . . ." Elsa starts, rubbing a hand over her mouth. Sighing again, Elsa stands and reaches her hand across the table, fondness lighting her eyes. Gerta, started, takes the hand gently. Elsa squeezes tenderly and keeps the head housekeeper's hand locked within her own. "I've said it before and I'll say it again; you have done far more than was ever asked of you. So if you've found happiness away from the castle then I will graciously see you off. You are always welcome within these walls and there will always be a place waiting for you if you so wish it." Elsa releases Gerta's hand and smiles, proud yet sad. "After you train your replacement, you'll be free to leave whenever you please."

Gerta gives Elsa a watery smile. "Thank you, I . . . thank you. I've tried my best to stick around for you lasses but—"

"No buts." Elsa interrupts. "You stuck around when the city was evacuated and took on a non-combatant role, a position more riddled with terrifying uncertainties that I could never hope to understand. You were there in the thick of it to help us, but you were there in the aftermath when Anna and I needed you more. It's time for you to give yourself time for you, and if you ever require my help know that all you have to do is ask." The queen smiles. "After all, what are friends for?"

There's a knock on the door.

Elsa gives a disgruntled glower to the slab of wood.

"Apparently they're good for getting interrupted." Elsa grumbles. "Who is it?" She calls, irritation lacing her words. Gerta has to bite her lip to keep from laughing.

"I think you need to work on patience." Gerta whispers teasingly. Elsa arches an amused eyebrow, but the person on the other side of the door answers before she can respond.

"Kai, your majesty. I've come to inform you that the ship from Iloa has just entered the fjord."

Elsa involuntarily stiffens and the muscle in her jaw bulges. Her voice—thankfully—remains even. "Thank you, Kai. I'll head to the docks immediately."

Running a hand through her wind-blown bangs, she lets out a slow, steady breath and glances at her apparel.

She wears formal royal blue with baby blue trimmed breeches, boots, and a high-collared tunic. Her gloves, of the same colour scheme, rest on the corner of her desk. Her hair is in its regular braid—falling over her left shoulder—and her bangs are blown back.

"Think I'm presentable?" Elsa asks, looking up to Gerta. The older woman can practically feel the anxiety clutching at the queen's chest. Gerta smiles encouragingly.

"You look fine, dear."

"Yeah? You don't think I should I put on formal mage-wear? Mage combat leathers? Something intimidating with ice? Or—"

"You look _fine_, dear." Gerta emphasizes, picking up the queen's gloves and handing them over. "And if you're worried about not being intimidating, I can assure you that you are daunting enough without adding flare."

Elsa smiles softly. "Thanks." She pulls on her gloves and walks around the desk, talking over her shoulder as she approaches the door. "Please train your replacement to do that. The last thing this place needs is me terrorizing the staff by over thinking things." Gerta laughs.

"Will do, your majesty."

* * *

Elsa waits on the cobblestone before the pier, arms crossed over her chest as she watches the red and gray ship dock.

The citizens stare and shift uneasily as they pass by. Even though they know the war is over and that Elsa herself has to approve every ship entering Arendelle waters, there are some scars that will never heal.

The gangplank is lowered onto the dock. Jasper, a man Elsa hasn't seen in a year—on his first official visit after the war—is the first to exit. His pace slows as he observes the golem soldiers standing guard all along the docks, each with a personal snow cloud above them. When his eyes land on Elsa, his face lights up with a smile and he instantly makes his way towards her. His smile widens as he steps onto the cobblestone and stops in front of Elsa, bowing his head respectfully.

"You've upped security since the last time I was here." He comments, gesturing behind him. Elsa hums thoughtfully.

"The last time you were here we were still in the process of rebuilding. We had just as much security, it was just less organized." Elsa says, glancing around at the guards—both golem and human—who stand in position or are patrolling.

Jasper, catching Elsa's unease, rubs the back of his neck and looks around. "I have to admit seeing so much ice and snow in the summer is a little disorienting. I expected it, of course, it's just strange to actually see."

"Mm." Elsa hums, agreeing with the man absently. Locking eyes with him again, she uncrosses her arms. "Your request to enter Arendelle waters said this is a diplomatic visit. May I inquire as to the topic?"

Jasper glances around, wary. "You may, but this isn't the place for me to tell you."

The crowd to their far left starts with shock and splits in a sudden cacophony. Elsa spins, her arms flexing. She catches sight Anna, astride her horse with May and Lila in tow, pushing through the crowd with apologies. Elsa can tell the girl's destination by the way her eyes always flick back to her and Jasper.

A few meters away Anna swings her leg and jumps off her horse, not even bothering to halt him. She strides purposefully towards Elsa without missing a beat, her two guard tigers taking her flanks. Leo follows his master dutifully, leaving a respective distance between him and Anna.

The princess stops in front of the pair and crosses her arms over her chest, obviously displeased. Jasper nods respectfully.

"Princess." He greets.

"General." Anna says, an noticeable bite in her tone. "To what purpose do you grace us with your presence?"

"As I've told your majesty, this is not the place to discuss the matters of my visit."

"Why? Afraid you'll alert the population to your plan?"

Jasper frowns, glancing to Elsa. Elsa simply shrugs, leaving him to deal with the disgruntled princess on his own. He turns back to the younger woman.

"No." Jasper says, lowering his voice. "There is trouble brewing and I'd very much like not to have everyone within ears reach to be aware of it. So far its remained a quiet affair, and I'd like it to stay that way."

Elsa and Anna glance at each other. Reaching a silent agreement, Elsa turns back to Jasper and nods, waving her hand for him to follow her. He does. Anna takes her place beside Elsa, ordering her horse on ahead. May and Lila take the rear, their suspicious gaze boring into Jasper's back. Jasper stiffens at the appraisal from the massive beasts.

Elsa has never been happier that she made them.

* * *

"Do you want to go change before we start?" Elsa asks, nodding to Anna's apparel as they walk into her office. Anna shakes her head.

"I don't want this taking longer than necessary." Anna replies, strolling up to Elsa's desk and easily taking a seat on the corner of it. Elsa raises an eyebrow but doesn't question her response or behaviour. As the queen takes a seat in her chair, she waves to the door.

"If you would." She says. Jasper frowns and glances at the two tigers who have situated themselves on either side of the desk. He gestures to them.

"Are they really necessary?" He asks. Anna raises an amused eyebrow at the man's discomfort.

"It's their job to follow me wherever I go. If I make them leave they're liable to bust in at any raised voice. As long as they're in here they'll remain calm. Unless you do something, that is." Anna replies, shrugging. Jasper frowns, but shuts the door nonetheless and takes a seat in front of the desk.

"So, what seems to be brewing?" Elsa asks, kicking things off.

"Well, nothing good obviously." Jasper says, rubbing his jaw thoughtfully. "One of the nations closest to us, Pryne, is neither our friend nor foe. They have a strong, well trained military. It's not as big as ours but, as we learnt from you, numbers sometimes have little to no affect on the outcome. Pryne has nothing it can use to create such a scenario where it can use space to overcome numbers, but they are trained absurdly well that it might not make a difference.

"After our war with you ended, Pryne began to believe our military incompetent. They starting wondering how we could join forces with four other nations and come back empty handed when our target was so small. So over the last two years they been bolstering their forces, and now we have reason to believe they've been arming themselves to attack us." Jasper sighs and rubs his eyes. "If fighting breaks out I have no doubt that we will win, but catastrophic damage will be wrought in the process. So, as you can probably imagine, I'd like to stop whatever this is before it starts."

"Okay." Elsa says, slowly. "What does that have to do with Arendelle?"

Jasper nods, expecting the question. "You once said you wanted to have all of this fighting stop and have it stay that way. Bearing that in mind, I decided to come to you for help."

Anna's fists clench the table in a white-knuckle grip. Elsa can't see her face, but by the stiffening of the girl's posture Elsa can tell it's nothing good. Deciding to get in a word before her adopted sibling can blow, Elsa speaks up.

"That doesn't answer my question." She says, critical. "You could have easily went to one of the other nations and asked for help from them. I see no reason to why you've gone out of your way to a nation who has made it quite clear that they want nothing to do with outside conflict."

"Don't get me wrong." Jasper says. "We have representatives going to the other nations, as well, but Iloa would like your help more."

"And why is that, exactly?" Anna grinds, her jaw clenching painfully. Jasper looks to the princess, meeting her eye evenly.

"Simple. You are the ones Pryne has associated with our 'loss', and your kingdom's reputation has grown a substantial amount of weight, and to see soldiers of yours—human or not—Pryne's moral would falter. They would realize that to attack us means to attack you, which would instantly translate into a loss in their minds. All you have to do is give us a small military presence and we can stop all hostility before it gets out of hand."

Anna jumps off the table and starts pacing aggressively near the far wall, massaging her temples.

Elsa clears her throat gently.

"So you want . . . what, exactly?" She asks. Jasper looks away in thought.

"Well," he says tapping his fingers on the arm of his chair; "I was going to ask for a ice boat and regular soldiers, but upon seeing your golem guards I'm starting to think otherwise." He looks up to meet Elsa's eye. "If you send an ice boat with snow creatures, that would make more of an impact than just sending regular soldiers. In addition, you wouldn't have to risk the lives of any of your people."

Elsa grits her teeth. "You have no idea what you're asking of me."

"Just a presence." Jasper presses. "Pryne will back off after you and our other allies convene. They—"

"What if Pryne has allies?" Elsa bites. "What if they see you calling your allies and decides to call theirs to come along for the ride? What if they don't back down at the sight of my golems, but instead see it as a challenge to defeat the enemy that you could not? But let's say your plan _does_ work and that Pryne _does_ back off and my ship _does_ come home. Just our presence alone has done damage because it becomes a beacon saying Arendelle is willing to fight battles other than our own self defense.

"It also puts up a flag announcing that we've taken an interest in other nations that extends past trade. It will send out an alert that will make nations think Arendelle will try to expand, and if our reputation is as notorious as you claim, it's highly unlikely that we will get the benefit of the doubt. Maybe if we only helped Iloa and no one else nothing will ever come of this worry, but if we help you then the other four nations will see it as a signal that we're willing to help them too. But since we helped Iloa, we can't rightly deny the other nations without risking hostility between us, so we help them.

"Our presence outside Arendelle will only grow if I agree to your plan, and nothing good will come of it. So in good conscious I can not accept. You have to think of another way, or Arendelle will continue minding its own business." Elsa finishes, in a tone that leaves no room for argument. Anna stops pacing, twitching a relieved smile.

Jasper stares at the monarch in shock.

"I . . ." he says, his words lost. He takes a moment to collect himself. "I don't know any other way you could help us, but since you are obviously still willing – will you allow me to stay for a couple days to think of something?" Elsa's jaw muscles bulge, but otherwise shows no indication that she cares.

"Three days." Elsa allows. "I will give you a audience with Anna and I every afternoon for you to discuss what solutions you have come up with. On the morning of the fourth day you have to be out of my docks and sailing away from Arendelle waters, whether you get my help or not. Do you understand?" She asks, a silent threat looming in her words. Despite this, though, Jasper gives a relieved smile.

"Your generosity is a blessing, your majesty. I gladly accept and will see you tomorrow."

Elsa nods briskly and Jasper stands, nods respectfully, and leaves - shutting the door behind him.

The moment the two women are alone, they release the breath they weren't aware they were holding. Elsa slouches in her chair and rubs her eyes. Anna leans against the stone of the fireplace and crosses her arms over her chest.

"Quite the predicament he's placed us in." Anna comments, staring up at the ceiling.

"Yes." Elsa murmurs, raising her head to stare at the door. "But I'm afraid he doesn't see the larger consequences of Arendelle involvement."

"No, but he definitely sees the consequences if we don't." The younger girl says, sucking her front teeth in thought. "If we don't interfere, the only situation we get off scot free is if hostilities are pacified with little to no hitches, which is very unlikely. Otherwise we're going to be affected whether we like it or not. We do trade with Iloa and her allies, so if they get involved in the Iloa-Pryne war their shipments will slow, possibly stopping all together, and all five of them will be sending us missives asking for aid in the form of goods.

"But what are we to do? We are one tiny nation asking to supply five large nations, yet we can't outright refuse because one, it'll fowl relations, and two, we're the reason it started – because we refused to send troops. Thus we're forced to supply them, but we can't give them anything substantial in steal or farm goods because we simply don't have enough. So we'd end up sending non-melting ice equipment, which tags us to the war in the way you feared, only worse.

"What do you think will happen with those weapons? They scream Arendelle no matter who gets their hands on them, and the actions of who use them will be blamed on us." Anna looks pointedly at her sister. "We can't send soldiers or supply them, but we can't do nothing, either."

Elsa groans and drops her head into her hand. "Damn it." She hisses, shaking her head gently.

"The funny thing is," Anna continues; "if Jasper never would have came here we never would have been involved at all. If war broke out and he never asked us to help we could ignore them, saying it's their own damn fault. But since he did ask for help he's put us in a very difficult position." Chuckling softly, Anna scratches the back of her neck and sends Elsa a sheepish smile. "Who'd a thought?"

Elsa smiles at the younger girl's antics. Leave it to her to make a bad situation seem lighter than it is in less than five words.

Anna claps and pushes off the stone, getting ready to take on the challenge. "We're going to have to put as much thought into this as Jasper if we're going to make this work." Elsa hums absently.

"I already know what he needs, I just don't know if I'm prepared to let it happen." The queen says, biting her bottom lip in thought. Anna suddenly looks very wary.

"Why, what is it?"

Elsa looks up to meet Anna's gaze. "He needs a negotiator."

Anna is quiet for a moment, sifting through the logic. When it all the pieces click into place she hisses, closes her eyes and pinches the bridge of her nose.

"Of course." Anna breathes. "We would have our snow and ice presence with the condition we take a non-combatant role—such as medics, runners, war council, et cetera—if the peace talks don't pan out. It means we won't have to fight and all of our equipment remains our own, but we can't just send anyone for the talks. Not just because of how it'll look, but because we can't send a non-military member into a possible war zone within good conscious, and I can't think of an officer who I'd want to send into such a delicate negotiation."

Hissing through her teeth, Anna looks up and meets Elsa's eye. "It'd have to be one of us, but even though I hold the right position I'm not as crafty as you when it comes to contract strategy. The only trouble is that you are Arendelle's massive defense card. If anyone got wind that you were out of the nation they might strike, and without you to limit how many boats get into the fjord, I doubt we'll be able to hold our own.

"Therefore our problem lies in you needing to go but not being able to because you can't leave Arendelle." Anna sighs and scrubs her face with her hands. "The only solution would be for me to go and you to stay." Her face contorts and she drops her hands. "I'm decent enough when it comes to battle strategy, so all I'd have to do is convert my thinking a little bit. The problem with that is that I don't know if I could do it without you. Not that I'm doubting my ability—okay, maybe a little but that's beside the point—it's that I've never had to deal with everything that's happened without you being right there. You know I'll go if I have to, but I need you – I need a part of you to bring with me or else . . . Gods, I don't know what I'd do."

Elsa lets out a carefully controlled breath, nodding. "That's why I'm not overly enthusiastic about the idea. I know that, despite what you say, you will be brilliant with the peace contracts, but I'm just not willing to let you go. Maybe it's selfish of me, but you're all I have and if you go . . . you'll be too far away for me to protect you." Elsa's face contorts and tears mist her eyes. "I don't want to lose you." A strangled sob rips past her throat and she covers her eyes with her hands, her shoulders shaking with the effort to keep it in.

Anna is immediately at her side, cradling the older woman against her chest and rocking softly. "Shh," Anna whispers; "it's okay. It's okay." Elsa shakes her head vigorously within Anna's grasp.

"No, it's not." She sobs. "You'll be away from your home without the comfort of familiarity, but I can't keep you here and protect you without possibly damning Arendelle and I can't even go in your stead without opening you and Arendelle to unforetold dangers. Do you know how useless that makes me feel? I can't do anything except stay here and sit on my ass, praying everything will turn out okay!"

Tears streak Anna's cheeks and she holds the queen as tight as she can, sobs now threatening to release from her as well. "It's okay." Anna reiterates, her throat tight. "Everything is going to be okay."

They stay like this for a long while, soothing each other and crying, until Anna sighs and presses her cheek to Elsa's hair.

"We can't ignore this." Anna whispers, hoping to drag Elsa out of the emotional hole she's dug herself in. Elsa lets out a shaky breath.

"I know." She breathes, burying her face further into Anna's neck and clutching the girl tighter. Anna smiles ruefully.

"I really have to go, don't I?"

Elsa sobs in response. Anna's jaw clenches and she swallows thickly.

She has to go. She _really_ has to go. There's no way around it without risking Arendelle. She's going to have to leave her home, her friends, Elsa – everything she cares about will be but a blot on the sea as she sails away and she is helpless to stop it in good conscious.

Fuck. Why does logic have to have so goddamn logical?


	2. A Maelstrom of Confliction

"Thus," Jasper says, finishing his explanation the next evening; "I need a negotiator. However, in order for it to be taken seriously, I'm afraid it'll have to be one of you." Neither Elsa or Anna look surprised.

Elsa wears the same style she wore the day before. Anna, on the other hand, has changed into formal ice blue with silver trimmed breeches, leather boots and a high-collared tunic, the sleeves rolled up. A silver snowflake adorns her shoulders and back.

"We know." Elsa says. Jasper's eye light in surprise and hope.

"You do? Well, that's wonderful!" He says, grinning, but the stoic looks on the women's faces makes his smile falter. "Unless you think otherwise?" He asks, tentative. Anna gives him a dry look.

"We're not overly stoked about the idea, no." Anna drawls. "But we've already determined who will have to go, by what means and on what terms, yet we're far from pleased from being separated and I'm far from pleased from being taken from my home." Her eyes grow dark and her jaw clenches. "And I'm not overly fond of open water."

"But," Jasper says, hesitating; "will you do it?" The looks of the queen and princess harden and they stiffen immediately. Anna's jaw tightens painfully.

"Give me . . . give me a couple days." She says, forcing out the words. Off Jasper's look—that Anna is in no mental state to notice—Elsa explains.

"She will go." She says, much to Jasper's relief. "But not right away. We both need time to steel ourselves and just . . . prepare for the inevitable." Jasper nod solemnly.

"I understand." He says. He turns to Anna. "When should I expect your company on my ship?" Anna barks a laugh.

"Your ship?" She asks. "I'm taking my own ship. A nice sparkly ice one with lots of snow clouds hovering about the walking piles of snow." Jasper blinks in surprise.

"I thought you didn't want a military presence outside your nation?"

"It's called a mode of transportation." Anna retorts. "The crew will just happen to be snow golems because we don't want to subject any of our people to this . . . situation. That and if it's hot here, it'll probably be scorching where you live and I need a way to keep cool. Well, it's also a form of self-defense and self-reliance, but keeping cool is important, too."

Jasper twitches a smile at the princess's quirkiness. "Very well." He concedes. "But you still haven't given me a time." Elsa speaks up before Anna can.

"The sooner we get you two sailing the better, considering the ride will take two weeks if the weather favours you. Therefore, give us tomorrow and you can set off the morning after."

"Fantastic." Jasper beams, a smile lighting his face. "In that case, can I have permission for my crew to take leave of the ship?"

Elsa and Anna share a wary glance. Elsa clears her throat gently. "You may, but only fifteen can be on land at a time and all must have a personal guard who is constantly with them. They may not bring weapons, vandalize or harass the citizens, and if they are looking for a good time please remind them that I will personally chop off their hands if they so much as look at one of my people that way."

Jasper rubs the back of his neck awkwardly. "Harsh, but understandable." He says, slowly. "Okay." He allows. "Are they allowed in the taverns?"

Elsa purses her lips distastefully. "They are each allowed to buy two pints, no more. If they are unsatisfied, tell them they will either have to deal or be forcibly thrown back on your ship. Also, do remind them that if they break any rules they will not be fortunate enough for you to buy them back. They will play by Arendelle's rules, and our rules are harsher on those from other places disrespecting us and thinking they can get away with it. They will not test boundaries here as they do in other nations, because our boundaries are barbed with blades that will cut them if they try. Do you understand?"

Jasper stares at the queen in astonishment. He was anticipating lack of freedom, but not the harshness or severity. He clears his throat uncomfortably.

"You combined forces with four other nations, declared war and rendered us relatively crippled by the time you left." Elsa explains before Jasper can rebuttal. "My citizens haven't forgiven you; they tolerate you, but they haven't forgiven you. So these rules are as much for your crew's safety as they are for Arendelle's – the last thing either of us want is for my people to retaliate against your men and women because they feel as if I'm not."

Jasper surprises himself with a relieved smile. Against all hope and reason, the queen has remained the logical ruler he remembers. Despite what her reasons look like on the surface, there is always a double meaning more thoughtful and caring than anyone could ever hope for.

"Thank you." He says, his sincerity so tangible the two women stare at him in shock. "I'll inform my crew immediately. When will you be sending along the escort soldiers?"

"Uh," Elsa says, shaking her head to clear her surprise. "I'll order them over as soon as you leave. By the time you're done talking with your crew they'll be waiting at the end of the gangplank."

Jasper nods. "Will they be human or snow and ice?"

"Human for the escorts and golem for the ones guarding the gangplank. To make sure no one tries to leave when they're not allowed, you understand."

"Of course." Jasper says, smiling. He nods respectfully. "I'll take my leave, then."

Elsa nods. "Very well."

Jasper leaves the room with a wide smile on his face.

Despite all odds, he really likes Arendelle.

* * *

Elsa is angry.

No, she's not angry – she's furious.

_No._ Elsa thinks, gritting her teeth. _I'm grieving._

She paces in her study aggressively, hands balled into tight fists and her muscles so rigid she swears the tension will snap her spine.

It's been an hour since Jasper and Anna left, but she can't get over—no, she can't _accept_—that there is absolutely nothing she can do to help. She can't accept that all she can do is see Anna off and hope she comes home okay. She can't accept that this situation is real and that Anna will be gone for six to eight weeks, maybe more. She can't accept that she won't get to curl up against her at night and wake to her wild hair and goofy grin.

She can't accept that Anna might not come back.

"Fuck." Elsa grinds, pushing the heels of her hands into the sides of her temple. If she's like this before Anna even leaves, she can't imagine the state of dishevel she'll be in when Anna returns.

Yes, _when_ Anna returns; because if she doesn't Elsa will send a spike of ice through her skull.

Elsa forces herself to breathe and tries to dispel her thinking process. She admits that if Anna's death was confirmed—without any doubt and no room for errors—she would off herself faster than she could blink, but it's not the most comforting of thoughts. It assumes that Anna won't come home, but she will. As long as Elsa's alive, Anna will always come home.

"Gerta, Kai, a maid – someone." Elsa calls, sighing and sitting on the armrest of her chair, rubbing her eyes. A beat. A soft knock sounds on the door.

"Your majesty?" A tentative voice says. Elsa waves for them to enter, before she realizes that the person can't see her.

"Come in." Elsa says, dropping her hands to her thighs and clenching the solid muscles tightly to remain composed. The door opens timidly and a girl in a maid's uniform enters, bowing courteously. "Do you know where Anna is?" Elsa asks, getting right to the point.

"As far as I'm aware she went to the training grounds immediately after your meeting, your highness."

"Is she still there?" Elsa presses. The maid shakes her head helplessly.

"I'm afraid I'm not sure. It's possible but, knowing the princess—"

"—It's doubtful she' still there." Elsa finishes, nodding in agreement. "Not when she's agitated." Elsa mutters.

"Pardon?"

Elsa looks up in surprise, as if forgetting the maid was there. She shakes her head "It's nothing."

"Would you like me to get someone to fetch her?" The maid asks.

"No." Elsa breathes, running a hand through her bangs. "Let her do as she pleases. Thank you." She dismisses. The maid nods and leaves. Elsa smiles bitterly.

Let Anna relax while she still can.

* * *

Anna sighs softly through her nose as she walks the streets, smiling politely at all who pass. The sun is starting to set and all the businesses are closing, but Anna doesn't mind – she just couldn't stay in the training grounds any longer.

Every day Anna has scheduled practice with the guards. For the first hour she trains and conditions herself, and for the second she goes head-on with trainee. In the instance of the latter, considering trainees don't have the skill to beat her, it's mainly a tool help her get over her fear of felling someone. It took her a year to get over her hesitation during final moves but now that she has she knows, if she has to, she can cut someone down. She knows she'd be able to go as far as crippling someone, but killing? That'd ruin whatever sanity she has left.

The point is, is that when she's in the training grounds someone is always there with her. When she's by herself, well, that's when things get interesting. In the absence of distractions her mind has room to roam. So when the dummy she was demolishing suddenly became phantom images of the dead, she kindly whacked it in the face, put the dud swords away and left.

So she finds herself here, watching the population uneasy glare and avoid Jasper's scattered shore leave crew.

And one very unhappy stand attendant.

Anna slows to a stop as one of Jasper's on leave sailors try to barter with the man behind the counter. She can make out enough of the conversation to know that the man's price is much higher than usual and the woman only has a set amount of silver on her. Sighing gently through her nose—unable to let the injustice pass—Anna strides over to the pair.

"Just charge her regular price." Anna says, coming to a stop beside the woman. Both of their eyes widen.

"Princess Anna—" the man starts, but Anna interrupts him.

"I overheard." Anna explains. "She knows what the regular price for produce is and obviously came here with the intention to deal with you fairly. You should know that Elsa made it very clear to the Iloa ship's crew that they are to abide by our rules while within our borders. As an Arendelle citizen you should do well to adhere to them as well."

The man flushes scarlet and mutters in affirmative. Anna crosses her arms over her chest and oversees the exchange, making sure it's completed without any more hitches. When the woman safely has the fruit in her arms, Anna smiles and nods to the man.

"Thank you." She says. She turns to the woman. "And thank you for being patient. I apologize for any mistreatment you've faced here." She then narrows her eyes at the Arendelle soldier escorting the woman. "You should have stepped in." The man flusters, but before he can answer the woman laughs melodically.

"It's fine princess, truly." The woman says, smiling kindly.

"No, it's not okay that we practically threaten you to be on your best behaviour and our people don't do the same." Anna responds, frowning. The woman chuckles fondly.

"It's _fine_." She reiterates, her smile broadening. "I received the generous aid of the princess herself, who in all respects should show more ill favour towards Iloa citizens than her people." She glances to the two giant snow tigers sitting behind the royal and nods to them. "I've noticed that they follow you around a lot. Are they your friends?"

Anna laughs. "Guards, actually. I've had them for so long, however, that they feel more like life-long companions. I've see them every second of the day for the past year, so I suppose it's understandable." The woman laughs. It's a light sound that lifts a weight on Anna's heart.

"It must be nice." The woman says, delight flooding her eyes. Anna smiles broadly in response.

"It is." She says, softly. She nods to the fruit in the woman's arms. "Out of everything you could have bought, why did you go for fruit? I mean, you can buy that anywhere." The woman smiles proudly. Whether it's because of the fruit or for piquing the princess's curiosity Anna can't quite be sure.

"Fruit has a short life span, meaning I can't really bring it on ships even though I love them. So it became something of a tradition for me to eat fruit whenever I'm on shore leave." Anna quirks an eyebrow and glances at the large pile of fruit in the woman's arms curiously. The woman smiles and offers Anna an apple. "Do you want one?" She asks. Anna laughs.

"No, no – I'm fine. I can have as many as I like back at the castle. If you want me to accept, though, I'll gladly lick it and give it back."

The woman blinks, shocked. Anna shrugs.

"Some people like that sort of thing."

The woman has to bite her lip and clear her throat multiple times to keep from laughing. Anna grins proudly at the sight. She once again nods to the fruit.

"If you want it to last longer this time round you can see about purchasing an icebox. I'm afraid it's the regular melting kind, but it will make those last a lot longer. If you're interested go seek out Kristoff, he's a friend of mine and might give you a good price if he knows I sent you. Get your guard there to vouch for you, it's the least he can do." Anna gives the guard a pointed look. He coughs and shifts uneasily.

"I will vouch for her, your highness."

Anna beams proudly. "Good!" She shoots the woman a price-winning smile. "I hope the rest of your stay is pleasant and that any other mishaps are cleared promptly. If you are in need of any assistance, please don't hesitate to send for me."

The woman stares at Anna, astonished. She smiles broadly and nods, a flattered blush dusting her cheeks.

"You are far too kind, princess." She says. Anna smiles compassionately.

"That's where you're wrong." She says, her tone gentle and brokering no room for refutation. "You can never be kind enough to those who deserve it." The woman's face flares scarlet and she shies her eyes away. Anna giggles at the sight. She bows her head caringly to the woman. "Be well, good sailor. May the wind be ever at your sails." Anna smiles when the woman murmurs an affirmative response, obviously bashful. "Cute." Anna whispers, walking away and chuckling to herself as she hears the woman sputtering behind her.

Lila, on her left—always on her left—gives Anna a look. Anna grins at the tiger. Lila shakes her head gently and looks forward again. Anna snickers. She swears that, by the looks her tigers give her, that they would speak in sarcastic drawls if they could talk. That or she's just spent way too much time with the beasts and has become like Kristoff.

Anna's foot halts at that thought. Her tilts her head in thought.

Has she had conversations with May and Lila? Yes. Has she given them personal voices she uses to impersonate them? Yes. Can she figure out exactly what they're thinking just by looking them in the eye? Yes.

"Good Gods." Anna mutters. "I've become like Kristoff." Her nose wrinkles and she smells her tunic. "Well, at least I smell better."

May and Lila give Anna a strange look, then glance at each other. Anna swears they're both shrugging internally – she can feel it.

"Wow, I guess I've had way too much free time on my hands." Anna says, frowning. At this point in the game, however, she can't see herself ever going back to not personifying the speechless tigers. Despite what she says, their emotions run wild through their eyes when they feel safe enough to show it.

That thought makes Anna smile. _Aw, they like me._

Anna pats her two tigers and continues walking. "I like you guys, too." She says. May and Lila look perplexed, but otherwise appear proud at the admission. Anna's grin widens. They really are the best protectors she could have asked for.

_They're coming with me, right?_ She asks herself, then almost laughs at the stupid thought. _As if Elsa would let me parade off without them._

Elsa.

Anna's walking falters. What is she going to do without Elsa? With a two week one-way seafaring journey she'll be gone for a guaranteed month, and she has no idea how long the peace talks will take. Hell, if they fall through Anna will have to honour Arendelle's end of the bargain and stay as backup – then there'll be no telling when she'll be back.

_That'd make Elsa go berserk._ Anna thinks, wincing.

It brings up a valid point, though. If the peace talks do fall through, Anna is going to have to make sure she brings enough equipment to sustain her.

_Guess that's what the council meeting tomorrow is for. Well, other than informing them that I'm leaving for an undisclosed amount of time._ That thought makes Anna snicker.

During the war Anna loved the council – they were practical and worked together as a cohesive team. Six months after the war when the Arendelle citizens started to return, however, the old council members started asking about letting civilians back into court. It took another six months of persuading until Elsa agreed to bring in civilians, but outright denied the old council members. Something about them pissing the hell out of her.

After that the council started shifting. Half the officers had to take a leave of absence or leave entirely due to PTSD, leaving more positions to be temporarily or permanently filled. Now the council is half officers half civilians, and both sides are only now starting to see eye to eye; and _that's_ only because Elsa practically forced them to. She said; 'If you want to bitch at each other all day, fine. I'll just make the council irrelevant and only have these meetings for looks while Anna and I make every decision on our own. How do you like that?'

The civilian half accused her of bluffing. The officer side begged her to listen to reason. Elsa said; 'Why should I show reason if you don't? This council is adjourned.' For a solid three months the council convened as usual, only Elsa and Anna never showed up. When laws started passing, new trade routes started forming and new construction orders started filing out, the council knew they had to do something or the royals would despatch the group forever.

Well, that's what the civilian side thought. The officers knew it was only the civilians in danger of being booted because the officers themselves still met with the queen and princess every week. Thankfully the civilians managed to get themselves together, because Anna suspects everything would have turned into a shit show in later years if the council had become entirely military. Especially if it stayed as such when the throne is eventually passed to someone else.

Anna shivers at the thought.

So only now is she starting to like the going to council again, because—thank the Gods—they're actually starting to get shit done.

Sighing heavily, now at the outskirts of town, Anna leans into Lila's side and drapes her arms over the tiger's back as she looks back into the city, ignoring the ice of Lila's armour biting at her exposed forearms. May sits down on her right – always her right. Sometimes Anna suspects it's an mutual agreement between the two beasts that they each have their own side and they never deviate from it. Even when they guard a desk that she's at or the door to a room she's in, they keep to their side. It's odd . . . but strangely comforting.

"I'm going to miss this place." Anna breathes, roving her eyes over every detail of the city to try and commit it to memory. May purrs and rubs her head against Anna's side. Anna smiles. "Thanks May." She whispers, unhooking one arm from Lila's back to pat the beast.

A sudden thought strikes her and her face contorts in distaste. "Damn it." She scowls. May pulls back and gives the princess a curious look. Anna sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose. "I just realized that once I leave I'm going to be reduced to dismal 'I miss you, Elsa' masturbating."

May's snowy eyebrows shoot up and disappear under her ice armour. The sight is so comical that Anna can't help but laugh.

What she said is completely true and it will be utterly depressing when the time comes that she actually does it, but in the time being she'll just laugh at the expense of her guard. Might as well, right?

* * *

Everything feels wrong.

Elsa blinks her eyes open, the light still barely flickering over the horizon. She turns her head and stares at Anna, curled against the queen's side. Elsa takes in the girl's lion of a mane, her chest slowly rising and falling, her slack jaw and the relaxed, peaceful look on her face. It's always enough to make Elsa smile, but today it lodges a painful weight in her throat.

Forcing her breath to remain even, Elsa gently runs a hand through the girl's hair, traces the tiny scars on her face and interlocks her fingers with one of Anna's callused hands. She glances to the door and, just like always, May and Lila sit on either side of the frame.

Everything looks the same as it always does, but it all feels so damn _wrong_.

Trying to swallow the lump in her throat, Elsa tactfully slides out of Anna's grip and gets herself ready for the day, just like she always does. Anna wakes up almost before the two have to leave, just like she always does. They somehow manage to leave on time and catch breakfast, just like they always do. They go to council, just like they always do.

Clearing the despair that has settled on her vocal cords, Elsa forces herself to focus on the council. This is the first thing today that isn't _just like always_, because they're discussing the terms and conditions Jasper has to agree to and sign to receive Arendelle's aid. Anna's aid. They move on to discuss what Anna will bring with her and in what proportions; Anna will take an existing ship with customizations, existing snow guards, three sets of armour and weapons and enough food to last her a month.

Poor Anna had to make all the arrangements, sometimes drawing Elsa in to approve some decision or another. Eventually Elsa just said to take anything she needed without limitation, which really sparked concern in Anna and the others. When Elsa uncharacteristically slumps in her chair and rubs her temples, that's when they know their queen is breaking down.

Elsa stands abruptly, the meeting not even close to being over, and prepares to leave.

"I'm going to go pick out a ship and customize it. Anna, you handle the rest of the meeting."

Alarm flashes in Anna's eyes and she stands, trying to call out to the queen as she beelines from the room. Elsa doesn't respond.

True to her word, Elsa goes straight to the docks. In her haze she ignores every friendly hello and every attempt at conversation. She passes by Jasper's ship without so much as a second glance and boards one of the docked ice ships. The captain comes out of his cabin to greet her and asks if he can help with anything, but Elsa continues exploring the ship without so much as a glance to recognize his presence.

But the more Elsa explores the ship, the more aggravated she becomes.

None of this is good enough for Anna.

Growling in frustration, Elsa storms off the ship and marches to an open dock, barking orders to every guard she passes. Her magic is storming inside her when she reaches her destination, and with a livid cry, she blasts her magic at the water.

The population has started to stop and watch their clearly irate queen create a ship easily twice the size of any of the others in port. It's design is sharp – elegant in the most dangerous of ways. It is clearly a royalty battleship, and the name of the ship etched into both sides of the hull—Royal Grace—only confirms it.

Unlike the other ice ships, which are partially see-through, Elsa has trapped snow within the ice of this one to make it a pure solid white.

Elsa creates a gangplank and enters the ship to make fine details. Not soon after, the guards she ordered around start returning with supplies. The first thing to arrive are the sails – pure white with a baby blue snowflake in the middle of each.

The crew of Jasper's ship crowds the railing, gaping in awe as they watch the ice ship creation progress. Jasper, who steps out of the captain's cabin at the commotion, sees the sudden chaos and frowns. He catches a glimpse of Elsa, her eyes hard and jaw set as she goes below deck of the new ship, and his stomach sinks.

Why does she look ready to fight a war?

The supplies continue to flow into the new ship for almost two hours before everything settles back down and Elsa exits the ship, dark circles under her eyes.

Anna watches from the cobblestone astride Leo, a frown etched on her lips. Elsa forces a smile when she approaches the girl, which makes Anna's frown deeper. The princess offers Elsa her hand; Elsa doesn't react beyond taking the hand and pulling herself onto Leo behind Anna. She wraps her arms around Anna's waist and lays her head on the girl's shoulder.

Anna, her frown still prominent, kicks Leo's flanks and they immediately start galloping away, May and Lila hot on their tail. Where they're going Elsa doesn't know, but she can't honestly say she cares.

* * *

Elsa only lifts her head to look around when Leo finally comes to a stop. She realizes Anna brought them to a hill overlooking the city. She gives Anna a confused look, but the girl only makes a motion asking for Elsa to get off. Elsa obeys diligently and jumps off, quickly followed by Anna.

Anna holds out her hand to stop her animals from following her and lays a gentle hand between Elsa's shoulder blades, leading her closer to the embankment. When there's an acceptable distance between them and the animals, the younger girl sits down and pats the ground beside her. Elsa takes the cue and sits. They stay like that, in silence, as they both take their time looking over the city.

"It's a beautiful ship." Anna whispers, staring at the glittering dot in the distance. Elsa hums in distant agreement. Anna gives the older woman a sidelong glance. "You do know that the council agreed to use an existing ship though, right?" Elsa nods sombrely.

"I looked at one of the ships and I didn't like it. I know I made all the ships in the same style, so I just made a new one." She says, her eyes far away and her voice hollow. Anna frowns deeply at the disturbing combination.

"If you don't want me to go, Elsa, I won't." The girl says gently, as if addressing a skittish animal. Elsa's head snaps up immediately, a sense of duty filling her eyes, and she gives Anna a critical look.

"You have to go." She states factually, leaving no room for debate. Anna leans over and lays a tentative hand on Elsa's shoulder.

"Not if it means hurting you." She says, slow enough for the sentiment to register. Elsa's jaw clenches and she looks away. Anger filters into Anna's eyes and she gestures crossly to the city. "Just look at what you're like now, and I'm not even gone yet!" She shouts. "You freaked the hell out of the guards and the citizens, and the council started worrying for the state of your mental health – not just the civilian side, either. Gods, Elsa – if you need me just say so and I'll call everything off."

"You can't call it off." Elsa rebuttals immediately. "Arendelle—"

"Will be a big pile of shit by the time I return if you get any worse." Anna snaps. Elsa winces. Anna softens her tone. "We can make the same offer – we can tell Jasper that we will send non-combatant aid if hostilities break out, we just won't send a negotiator."

"Anna—"

"No, hear me out." Anna says, searching Elsa's eyes for permission. Elsa sighs and nods her head softly. The younger girl smiles, but it quickly fades to something more serious. "The main things we wanted to avoid were sending troops and supplies. If we do this than we can still have everything we wanted, and we may not have to be involved at all." Obviously seeing a complication, Elsa squeezes her eyes shut and rubs them fervently.

"Anna—"

"I know." Anna sighs, putting her hands on the ground behind her and leaning into them. "The negative fallback is that Arendelle won't have a say in the terms of peace and it might turn into a list of concessions that'll broker room for even larger hostilities. It will also make Iloa's population sour towards us because we didn't come to their aid in their time of need, and if war breaks they'll hate us for thinking nothing was going to come of Pryne's aggression.

"Trust me, Elsa, I've thought through the repercussions of not going, but I've thought of the repercussions if I do." Anna turns to the older girl. "It's like the war only it'll be like I'm out fighting and you are rendered helpless and have to remain in the underground system. Even though I'm under stress I am actively doing something about the problem and am keenly aware of everything that's going on, so I can handle myself and keep myself together despite the circumstances. You, on the other hand, will be blind and reduced to hearing the sounds above without the knowledge of the state of affairs.

"If I go you'll drive yourself insane with the uncertainties." Anna finishes gently, giving Elsa a troubled look. "Going to peace talks that may turn out fine on their own pales in comparison to you driving yourself mad."

Elsa sighs gently through her nose and lays back, throwing an arm over her eyes. "Perhaps you're right." Elsa mutters, clenching her teeth. "But if you stay because of me it'll weigh on my conscious, and it'll leave us both in the dark." She removes her arm and stares up at the younger woman. "If you don't go we'll both be in the underground. We'll both be anxious and worried and reduced to praying everything will turn out fine.

"I know that I haven't given you any reason to trust my state of mind today, but you have to trust that I will keep myself together for this kingdom." She shrugs. "I might become a lot more isolated and avoid people, but I'll do what's best. If that means temporarily giving the kingdom to the council because my state of mind leaves me in no condition to rule then so be it – I'll take time for myself. But even that is better than having you safely in my arms knowing the world around us may very well be collapsing in on itself."

The two stare at each other, plans and consequences running through their minds as they desperately try to meet each other on some sort of middle ground. Finding none, Anna squeezes her eyes shut and flops to her back, clutching her temple painfully.

"The world is too complicated for its own good." Anna mutters bitterly. Elsa chuckles gently.

"Perhaps." Elsa concedes. "Or perhaps we're just not smart enough to see how simple it is." Anna gives Elsa a strange look. Elsa merely smiles faintly in response. Anna's eyes soften.

"So, are you going to be okay without me?"

"Will you be okay without me?" Elsa retorts. Anna smiles sheepishly.

"Uhh, okay. Point taken." Anna admits, scratching her jaw awkwardly. Elsa twitches a smirk. A thought crosses her mind, however, and her smirk flitters away.

"I . . . I can't see you off at the docks." Elsa says, ashamed. Anna's eyes bulge and she immediately rolls to her side and props herself up on an elbow, her stare boring down into the older woman.

"What?" She accuses. Elsa winces, but doesn't move to explain herself. Hurt filters into the princess's eyes. "I'm going to be gone for who knows how long and you can't even clear your schedule to see me off?"

"It's not about my schedule." Elsa grinds, clenching her teeth. "It's just . . . I can't. I can't see you get on a ship and just stand there as you leave." Anna slaps Elsa's chest hard, angry tears forming in her eyes.

"This isn't just about you!" Anna bites, an obvious emotional lump lodged in her throat. "I'm going to be leaving on that ship. I'm going to be standing by the railing watching everything I know and love get further and further away from me. I need you, Elsa. I don't care if I break down in front of everyone when I have to part from you because I need to know that I saw you as much as humanly possible before I depart and—"

"That's just it!" Elsa cries. "If I'm there at the docks I _won't_ let you leave! Can't you see, Anna? Every time I'm with you I'm a hair away from calling everything off and the only thing that's allowed me to keep everything in place is me knowing I still have time to see you. If I'm at those docks I know there is no you barging into my study later, no Gerta telling me you've stolen more chocolate and no crawling into bed with you at night. I'd become an emotional wreck and no logic in the world could convince me from not freezing over that damn fjord and dragging you back to the castle."

Anna stares at the older woman in shock. Elsa, her chest heaving and angry tears burning in her eyes, swallows back her sorrow and stares up into the trees, desperately trying to control her breathing.

"I've lost you one too many times, Anna." Elsa whispers, her voice shaky. "If I'm there to see you off . . . well, I won't let you get away from me again. If I'm not there I can trick my mind long enough for you and Jasper to get out of the fjord."

"Elsa . . ." Anna breathes, cupping the older woman's cheek and forcing their eyes to lock. "I respect that that's what you need to do, but what about what I need? I need _you_, Elsa. You have to give me that." Elsa swallows thickly.

"I can . . ." She bites her lip, desperately thinking of a solution. "I'll do anything you want from now until you leave the castle tomorrow morning." She finally says. "We'll say our goodbyes before you leave our room, because if I'm mobile when you walk through those front gates, by the Gods, I will find a way to stop you." Elsa searches Anna's eyes tentatively. "Is that okay?"

Anna sucks on her front teeth in thought, weighing her opinions. After an awkwardly long beat, Anna says:

"Okay." She says, slowly. "That's probably the best I'm going to get." Elsa nods, affirming Anna's thoughts. The younger girl hums thoughtfully. "Yeah, that's what I thought. In that case—" Anna rolls and straddles Elsa's hips. Elsa blinks in shock. Anna smirks. "—I'll take you up on your offer."

A small 'eep' escapes Elsa's throat as Anna starts undoing the laces of Elsa's breeches. The elder girl immediately snatches the princess's wrists and glares at her.

"You seriously want to do that here? We're in the woods! We have a perfectly good bed back in the palace that won't stick twigs in our sides or cover us in dirt or get insects on us!" Elsa reprimands, scowling.

The reaction is too much for Anna to bear and she roars with laughter, laying her forehead on Elsa's chest and slamming her hand into the ground in mercy. Elsa's eyebrows furrow into an annoyed line, but amusement flickers in her eyes.

"I'm glad you find me so hilarious." She drawls, a playful edge in her tone. Anna looks up, a grin plastered on her face. The girl pushes up on her elbows and leans in, kissing Elsa lovingly. The two break and rest their foreheads against each other.

"I love you." Anna whispers. Elsa tilts her head back and connects their lips again.

"I love you, too." Elsa murmurs into the kiss. Anna giggles and pulls back to look Elsa in the eye, a soft smile her face. Elsa returns the smile affectionately. Anna rests all her weight into one elbow and gently runs her hand through Elsa's bangs.

"You're beautiful." Anna breathes, relishing in the softness between her fingers. Elsa's smile widens.

"You're beautifuller." She quips. Anna laughs at the familiar phrase and swats Elsa's shoulder teasingly.

"Don't making fun of me." Anna pouts, delight swimming in her eyes. Elsa laughs.

"I'd never make fun of you." Elsa whispers, cupping under Anna's ear and gently running her thumb along the girl's cheek. "You may be a little weirdo, but you're my little weirdo." Anna grins, a blush dusting her cheeks. Elsa smiles and leans up, kissing the girl softly. She pulls back, just enough for their lips to part, and whispers; "I love you."

The passion in the words strike Anna right in the heart, and she immediately crashes their lips together with fervour. Elsa grunts in surprise but responds with enthusiasm, running her tongue along Anna's bottom lip and barely waiting for her to accept before pushing forward and twining her tongue with Anna's. Anna moans and grinds her hips into Elsa's. Elsa gasps and pulls away, a trail of saliva hanging between their mouths, and holds Anna at bay. The younger girl's dilated pupils almost makes Elsa lose her resolve, but she soldiers onward.

"Bed." Elsa gasps. Anna narrows her eyes at the older girl and growls. In any other circumstance that would make Elsa laugh, but the sudden demand from her libido stops that urge cold. "Now." Elsa snarls back, not in the mood to be tested. A growl still rumbles in the back of Anna's throat, but Elsa has none of it. "I will not have sex with you in the dirt. Now _kindly_ get up and get on your damn horse."

Anna narrows her eyes and jabs a finger into Elsa's chest. "Once I get you in that bed, you are _not_ leaving it. Do you understand me? If you even try to get up I'm going to _tie you down_." Elsa smirks, meeting Anna's eyes in challenge.

"Horse." She demands. Anna's eyes darken and she smirks wildly.

"Yes, dear."

* * *

Jasper sits on a bench in the city, silently observing the life going on around him.

The sight of Elsa earlier had disturbed him deeply, and when Anna took her away—out of the city, at that—his worry that they would call everything off skyrocketed. So in order to take his mind off it, he finds himself here.

Sighing softly through his nose, Jasper runs a hand through his hair and drums his fingers on his leg. Maybe he didn't put enough stress on how dire Iloa's situation with Pryne really is? Or did he put too much stress on it and Elsa's overprotective nature is trying to keep Anna from harm? Or can the two rulers really not bear the thought of being separated?

Jasper hisses and crosses his arms over his chest. He would gladly take both royals with him if he had thought ahead to bring some ships to protect Arendelle in Elsa's absence. On the other hand, without sending warning for what purpose he was bringing them it would spark too much alarm, and all hopes of Arendelle helping Iloa would be lost.

That, and Elsa would never leave his battleships in her fjord while she was away. Jasper purses his lips. He certainly couldn't blame her.

Groaning, he drops his face into his hands. All he has to do is hold out until tomorrow, then he'll know if Arendelle will be sailing with him to save his nation. He hopes they do, because he doesn't think Iloa can handle Pryne without them.

* * *

Elsa, her appearance a frowzled mess, stands in the kitchen eating chocolate.

Her tunic and trousers are loose and wrinkled, she wears no footwear, her hair cascades in messy waves over her shoulders and, even though it's well past midnight, it looks like she hasn't had a wink of sleep. Two empty boxes of chocolate are strewn around the table she stands at and a half empty box sits in front of her.

Sighing and pushing the box away from her, Elsa plants her elbows on the table and lets her head fall into her hands – her hair falling around her face and blocking her from the outside world.

The closer it gets to morning the more anxious she becomes, to the point that she's already considered freezing over the fjord at least half a dozen times. Each time she's barely talked herself out of it, and every new time her resolve gets weaker and weaker.

Anna had kept Elsa busy for a good couple hours after they returned to the castle and afterwards she'd even managed a few hours of sleep, only to be awoken by nightmares. She lay awake for an hour before finally detaching herself from the princess and wandering around the castle. She'd eventually found herself here, seeking some sort of comfort, and ended up eating enough chocolate to make her sick.

She considered getting plastered upon finding the alcohol storage, but decided better on being an emotional wreck without any control over her actions. Thank whatever Gods may be for that one.

"Elsa? Are you okay?"

Elsa raises her head and focuses on the figure in the doorway, holding up an oil lamp. Gerta. Twitching forced smile, Elsa straightens herself.

"You know when I said I couldn't hope to understand your non-combatant position during the war?"

Gerta frowns. "Yes." Elsa's false happiness falls and her eyes grow dark.

"Well, I do now."

"Oh, dear." Gerta breathes, coming forward and setting the lamp on the table. Taking both Elsa's hands in her own, she tries to coax the queen to look at her. The muscle in Elsa's jaw bulges, but she accepts Gerta's attempt and meets her eyes. Gerta makes a motion for Elsa to breathe and Elsa, though resistant, obeys. When Gerta determines Elsa is calm, she smiles faintly.

"Do you want me to stay on the staff for a couple additional months?"

Elsa blinks. "What? Why?"

Gerta gives Elsa a broken smile. "You shouldn't have to be alone."

Elsa's eyes soften. "You know, then."

Gerta nods. "Yes." She says, smiling reassuringly. "But don't worry, only the head of the essential departments know. For household staff it's only me and Kai, even my in-training replacement won't know until everyone else does." Elsa nods – the only thing she can do with the lump in her throat. Gerta cocks her head curiously. "Why don't you go with her?" Elsa blinks, dumbfounded.

"I'm Arendelle's defense, I can't go."

"Who do you think will protect this kingdom after you're gone?" Gerta asks, raising a challenging eyebrow. "You're not going to be around forever, and while you are you'll still be expected to attend formal arrangements in other nations. When the Sorthern Isles hosts a party in honour of the King and Queen, do you honestly think you can ignore it like last year - just like you ignored all invitations from Corona? Are you going to demand everyone from every nation come to Arendelle if they wish to speak to you in person?" Elsa pulls one of her hands from Gerta and pinches the bridge of her nose, squeezing her eyes shut.

"No." She grinds. "But it's too soon – the population hasn't recovered psychologically _or_ recovered in numbers."

"You have snow creatures galore spread throughout the kingdom, enough to easily surpass the number of your standing army." Gerta rebuttals. "Arendelle can easily handle itself in your absence."

"Do you know how many nations want a piece of us?" Elsa snaps, dropping her arm and glaring. "They want to test our mettle and the only thing that's stopped them so far is me being here. So no, I'm not concerned with Arendelle being able to fend for itself, I'm worried about them actually having to." Gerta purses her lips in thought.

"So,"—she says slowly—"you _do_ agree that Arendelle can hold its own without you being here?" Elsa frowns.

"Yes, but—"

"And you agree that Anna is going to be more exposed then Arendelle without your protection?"

"Where are you going with this?"

Gerta smiles mischievously. "Well, what if no one knew you were going?" Elsa blinks, dumbfounded for the second time that hour. Gerta grins. "You've already shown the council and the population that you're an unpredictable mess with just the thought of Anna leaving, so what if you 'shut yourself away' when she actually does? What if you demand total isolation and only me and Kai can actually get through to you? Kai and I will give regular updates on your state of mind and well being, and no one would be any the wiser." Elsa's frown deepens.

"I . . . I'm not quite sure I follow."

Gerta rolls her eyes. "You pretend to be a snow golem personally made by you for her safety and protection." Elsa's eyes light up, but then she looks confused.

"Snow golems don't sleep or eat. Won't she think it strange that her food storage is going down and that her protector isn't always there protecting her?" Elsa questions. Gerta sighs, exasperated, and asks:

"Is the ship made of ice?"

"Yes."

"Will May and Lila recognize you even in your snow and ice disguise?"

"I . . . well, all snow creatures have a strange sort of connection with me so yes, I think so."

"Then," Gerta says, in a tone meant for children; "you can hide a food supply within the walls, and since you don't need doors to access it and the walls aren't see-through, Anna won't even know it's there. As for sleeping, if you sleep while Anna herself is asleep she has no way of knowing you weren't on post, and since May and Lila know who you are, they will cover for you and wake you up if Anna is stirring. Other than that you can sleep, rest, change, bathe or eat whenever Anna isn't around. It'll be a lot of manoeuvring on your part, especially when you land in Iloa, but you'll be right there in case something goes wrong. If all goes well, however, you merely reveal yourself to Anna during your return trip." Gerta leans forward and emphases: "Anna can _not_ know who you are until you're on your way back. You know as much as I how that will throw off her game and how it'll put everything in jeopardy if she knows about you beforehand." Gerta leans back and shrugs. "Long story short, if no one knows your gone no one will know the difference."

Elsa frowns and tilts her head to the ceiling, processing the information. It _does_ make a strange sort of sense. As long as other nations believe that she is still in Arendelle they won't dare raise a finger, and she can go off and protect Anna who—in Elsa's opinion—is in more immediate danger than her nation.

"You make a frightening amount of sense." Elsa admits, slowly. She meets Gerta's eye. "Do you think you can get Kai to go along with it?"

"No worries there – I already talked to him." Gerta says. "Who you really have to worry about is the council." Elsa waves her hand absently, dismissing the problem.

"I was already planning on temporarily relieving myself the kingdom's duties and handing it over to them. I already signed the paper, actually – Kai will deliver it to them tomorrow. As for keeping them—and everyone else—out of my room, I can create two permanently stationed golems with the express purpose of keeping out everyone except you and Kai." Elsa explains. Gerta nods, agreeing with the idea.

"What about actually getting on the ship?" Gerta asks suddenly. "You won't have enough time to see Anna off at the docks, retreat to the castle and bustle back as a snow golem." Elsa grins.

"Already got that covered – I told Anna that I'm not going to see her off at the docks." She says. Gerta's eye light up, as if finally believing this plan could really work. Elsa's eyes flitter to the wall in thought. "I told her that all our goodbyes have to be done before she leaves our room, so all I have to do is make sure she takes enough time with preparation for me to get the room ready for 'isolation' and me down to the ship before she gets there." Gerta snaps her fingers.

"Leo."

Elsa frowns. "Leo?" Gerta nods enthusiastically.

"The head groom has been asked to make sure all Anna's delivered saddlebags and suitcases that arrived before dark to be secured onto Leo, meaning Anna is planning on taking him with her."

"Ah ha!" Elsa cries, nearly throwing her arms into the air in triumph. "It will take Anna time to get to the stables and possibly more time to ready herself to ride away from the castle. In the city she will try to see off as many people as she can, which will give me time to get the ship before anyone's the wiser." Gerta nods, impassioned by the scheming.

"All you have to do is make sure the ship is completely prepared for your needs before the sun rises." Gerta says.

Elsa grins.

"Give me supplies and I can be done two hours."


	3. Dont Make a Girl a Promise You Cant Keep

**A/N:** Yes, this chapter title is a line from Halo.

* * *

"Anna—"

"Or should I wear this instead?"

"You're bringing clothes with you, you don't need—"

"But I have to look presentable."

"To who? Anna, the ship is run by snow golems."

"Some people actually want to see me off, Elsa." Anna grinds. The jab makes Elsa wince, and Anna sighs, rubbing her eyes gently. "Sorry. I'm just—"

"Don't. You're right." Elsa says, squeezing her eyes shut and throwing an arm over them.

Elsa is still in bed, stark naked and huddled under the blankets. True to her word, she is refusing to even stand up to see Anna off properly, much to Anna's disgruntle.

Anna is dressed in her signature ice blue with silver trimming and embroidered snowflake royal attire, the sleeves rolls up just past her elbows. Elsa doesn't quite know why, but Anna can't stand having sleeves covering her forearms. In fact, the only time anything ever adorns them is during certain training exercises or when she's wearing armour. Elsa had tried asking, but Anna had just shrugged and said she didn't like being overly formal. It doesn't explain why she rolls her sleeves up even on her riding tunic, training tunic or casual-wear, but Elsa didn't question it.

For the past hour Anna has been changing, going over a mental checklist, questioning her attire, rechecking that all her bags have been taken and, again, questioning her clothing choice. The fact that Anna is taking time to consider how she presents herself is odd enough on its own, what makes it disturbing is that she actually woke up early to do it.

_She never gets up on time, ever, yet she wakes up early to make sure she looks nice for less than a half an hour before her only company are snow golems. Strange girl._ Elsa thinks, biting her lip to keep herself from smiling. It wouldn't help Anna's nerves if she did.

Sighing, Anna walks over and sits on the edge of the bed.

"I am sorry, though." Anna whispers, her eyes falling to her lap where her hands fiddle with each other. "I know that you're doing everything you can, but I'm still goading you for more. It's selfish of me, and I'm sorry." She says, wincing. Elsa props herself up on an elbow and lays her other hand gently on Anna's forearm, stilling the girl's movements.

"It's not selfish to seek comfort before sailing on a journey that holds none." Elsa soothes, her voice gentle. Anna smiles weakly.

"I don't know if I can do it without you, Elsa."

"Snowflake." Elsa breathes, pulling on Anna's forearm until the girl lays beside her. Still separated by the blankets, Elsa wraps her arms tightly around the younger girl. "You never have to. At least, not without a piece of me. I left you something of a present in your quarters – just ask the golem captain to show you were it is." Anna raises an eyebrow.

"Aren't the quarters the same as the cabin's cabin?" She asks. Elsa shrugs.

"Typically, but that ship is huge and based solely on the needs of one occupant. Why would I put your office where you sleep if I didn't have to?"

Anna smiles against Elsa's neck. "You're so sweet." A blush dusts Elsa's cheeks.

"Well I have to look out for you, don't I?"

"I'm tougher than I look, you know." Anna teases, a playful lit in her voice. Elsa twitches a smile.

"Even the strongest people need to rely on the strength of others." Elsa says, staring up at the ceiling. "Sometimes it's nice to know that you don't have to sturdy all the time – that someone else will take the reins and let you rest." Concerned, Anna props herself onto an elbow and stares down at the queen, a frown etched on her lips as she searches Elsa's eyes.

"What do you mean by 'let you rest'?" Anna asks, masked panic concealed in her words. Elsa's eye bulge at the assumption and waves her hands in front of her in an attempt to dispel the girl's thought process.

"I mean resting! Actual resting – the kind you wake up from!" Elsa says in a rush. Anna breathes a sigh of relief. Elsa sighs too, but for an entirely different reason. "For the Gods sake, Anna, I'd never fucking kill myself." She neglects adding 'while you're still alive', but Anna seems to hear it anyway. Elsa continues, feigning ignorance. "What I meant was that I'm handing the responsibilities of the kingdom over to the council until the time of your return."

"Ooh." Anna breathes, nodding her head slowly. "That makes a lot more sense." Elsa rolls her eyes and smacks Anna's shoulder. "Ow!" The girl yelps. "Why'd you do that?"

"For assuming I'm going to be an imploding mess without you around." Elsa accuses, a good-humoured light sparkling in her eyes. Anna blinks, taking her turn to feign ignorance.

"Won't you be?"

"You little shit!" Elsa cries, laughing as she lunges for the girl and traps her in a headlock. Anna squeals in surprise, laughter bubbling up her throat as she wriggles to get out of Elsa's grip. Elsa barks a laugh when Anna starts to whimper, unable to find the leeway she was hoping for.

"Elsaaa." Anna whines. Elsa's laughing increases.

"You go to the training grounds every day and you can't get out of a headlock? I must reconsider what they've been teaching you."

"You're just insanely strong." Anna huffs, still trying to escape. "Fuck, when the hell do you find the time to work out? I never see you in the training grounds, ever—okay, maybe twice—but _seriously_, I'm the warrior in this relationship."

"_Excuse_ me?" Elsa charges, strengthening her hold. "I'm sorry, I don't think I heard that correctly."

"You're a mage." Anna gasps. "You use magic – why the hell do you need to be so strong?"

"Firstly, I resent that. Secondly, it's called gaining endurance to help me with magic. Thirdly, I can't use magic for everything, you twat. What do you expect me to do in situations that I can't use magic? Stand around looking pretty?" Elsa asks, irritation lacing her humour. Anna bites her bottom lip in thought.

"Okay, you got a point there." Anna concedes. "But am I at least a better swordsman than you? I mean, if you're a mage and also a better fighter than me I think I'll be a little put-out." Elsa's eyes soften and she loosens her hold.

"In organized fighting and phalanx formation I'd be about as useful as a gawky recruit. In enclosed fighting with allies and enemies alike I'd be a lot more stilted than you, always looking twice to make sure it's a foe and not a friend. Honestly, the only thing I'm probably better at is standing alone against many, since that was my specialty during the war." Elsa admits, her eyes fading in thought. Anna turns around in Elsa's now loose hold and faces the woman.

"So you're saying your stronger than me because you always stood alone but your skill didn't improve at all?" Anna asks, confused. "That doesn't make sense."

"No, I'm saying that I had to remain strong as a solo for absurdly long amounts of time and my muscles reflect that, but just because I can still pack a punch after twelve hours of constant bombardment doesn't mean I can do it with any finesse." Elsa says, oddly serious. "I've been trained in the art of downing people with the least amount of energy within the mass of many, not so much in prolonged engagements with skilled fighters. Without the aid of magic, I'm afraid I'd lose those types of fights." She locks eyes with Anna. "But not you. You'd win with a practiced grace and make it look like a fun little game. I'm jealous of that, actually."

Anna flushes under the attention. "Well, shucks." She says, a proud smile shyly spreading over her lips. Elsa smiles.

"Feeling better?" She asks. Anna's smile broadens to a grin and she lets out a content sigh. Elsa chuckles and pulls the girl into a hug. "Good." She whispers.

There's a knock on the door.

"Princess Anna,"—Kai's voice says—"it's almost time for Royal Grace to leave the docks. If you leave now you'll still have time to see people off at the pier before you set sail."

Anna stiffens in Elsa's arms. Elsa releases a controlled breath and says:

"Okay, Kai – thank you. Oh, and I need to talk to you. Please stand by until Anna leaves."

"As you wish, your majesty."

Anna pulls back and gives Elsa a strange look. Elsa shrugs. "I need him to deliver my temporary vacation notice to the council."

"Oh." Anna says. A beat. Clearing her throat and shifting awkwardly, she says: "So, this is it for a couple months, huh?"

"Seems so." Elsa breathes, forcing a faint smile.

After a moment of hesitation Anna crashes their lips together, desperately trying to tell Elsa everything she's thinking and feeling all at once. For her credit, Elsa deciphers all of them. Anna pulls away as abruptly as she started and bounds to her feet, a noticeable jitter in her movements.

"I'll see you later."

Elsa tries to smile, but it comes out as a painful twitch. "I love you." Anna's eyes mist over.

"I love you, too." She whispers. Clearing her throat, desperately trying to keep her composure, Anna turns and walks to the door. "Come on, guys." She murmurs, even though May and Lila are already getting into place on either side of her. Without so much as a second glance, Anna leaves the room.

Elsa immediately jumps up and runs to the closet. She rips open the doors and haphazardly throws her training attire onto the bed.

"Your majesty, you wished to speak with me?" Kai asks through the door.

Elsa opens a drawer and grabs a pair of underwear, hastily pulling them on. "Give me a moment!" She calls. She pulls out the cloth she uses to bind her chest and growls.

_That'll take too long_. She reprimands, throwing it back into the drawer and waving her hand, instead bonding her chest in ice. She runs back to the bed and pulls on her form-fitting tunic with heavy fabric reinforcement.

"Come in!" Elsa calls again, grabbing her breeches. She only has one leg in when Kai enters the room. His eyes widen and he turns his back.

"My apologies, your highness. I was unaware—"

Elsa rolls her eyes and cuts him off. "Obviously. Look, did Gerta fill you in?" Kai's flustered behaviour halts, immediately becoming serious.

"She did." He confirms.

"Perfect." Elsa says, sitting on the edge of the bed and yanking on her leather boots, tying the laces as quickly as humanly possible. "I grabbed the letter of temporary leave from my office and brought it here, so it wouldn't look weird with you going into my office to grab it." Tucking the laces into her boots, she grabs her elbow long training gloves and pulls them on as she walks to her dresser to start riffling through it. "You are to hand it to the council a little after the meeting starts. Be in a little bit of a panic – I mean, I did just go all 'oh no, Anna!' and isolated myself in a horrible crying fit." She pulls out the official document and hands it over to Kai. "Any questions?"

"Yes." Kai says, meeting Elsa's eye. "What happens if an important decision comes up and they need your direct approval?"

"Stall them."

"What if it's the kind of decision that can't wait?"

"Well, ah, you and Gerta convene in my room as a duel effort to get me to give a shit and decide between the two of you what the best course of action should be. After you decide what to do then you go tell the decision to the council. If it's the type of thing that needs written permission, try your hand at my writing and pretend I'm really angry about being brought out of my depression and scribble it a little bit."

Kai's mouth falls open in shock. "You . . . you want me and Gerta to make decisions on the matters of state and forge your handwriting?" Elsa eyebrows knit in concern.

"I admit it's not the most ideal solution, but I know that not a lot of important decisions will have to be made in my absence. If there are any the council can always work around it until the time of my return. If you really have to choose, though, Gerta is a skilled tactician that I trust—with the help of your input—will make the best decision possible. Again, it's not ideal, but Arendelle practically runs itself – it can handle itself in my absence.

"If the council—or anyone else, for that matter—is unnerved by me not leaving my room, arrange for me going to the ice castle in the North Mountain. Just make sure no one sees and that the golems actually go there and guard the front gate so no can actually go in and see I'm not there." Elsa says. She pauses and thinks of anything else she has to say. Finding nothing, she nods to herself and waves her hand, creating two snow golems covered in brutal-looking ice armour. "Now, I'm sorry,"—she apologies—"but I kinda need to throw you out."

"Uh . . ." Kai glances warily at the intimidating snow creatures.

"They won't hurt you – we just have to make this looks real. Now, this is important, after I throw you out go immediately to Gerta. You _can not_ go to anyone who will instantly run to the docks to try and stop the Royal Grace from departing. Make sure there is no possible way that anyone can stop Anna's departure before you tell anyone about my 'state', including the council. Also, try to stop anyone from sending Anna updates on my state of being – that'd fuck with everything. Understand?" Elsa searches Kai's eyes. When she is met with understanding, she smiles. "I can always count on you." Elsa says. She waves her hand.

_Time to become a snow golem myself._

* * *

Anna takes a preparation breath before pushing through the door to the stables, striding purposefully. The head groom spots her and smiles, bowing politely.

"Off for another ride, your highness?"

Anna slows and stops in front of the man, not wanting to be rude, and nods. "I am. Leo!" Leo, in the unlatched stall at the end of the stables, calmly strides out and makes his way to Anna. Anna frowns as she examines him.

"When should I expect you ba—"

"Where're my things?" Anna interrupts. The groom furrows his brow and glances back to the horse, still making his way over. Realization washes over his face and he smiles broadly, turning back to Anna.

"Her majesty the Queen came in the dead of night and took Leo for a ride, when she came back some time later the bags were gone. I'm afraid the stable hand attending her at the time was sworn to secrecy about the details, so I don't know any more than that."

Anna's eyes soften. _She must have brought them to the ship so I wouldn't have to_. She thinks, smiling faintly.

"Okay." Anna relents, letting the head groom off the hook. Leo stops beside the pair and waits patiently. Anna smiles at him affectionately. "Ready to kick some ass?" Leo whinnies and slams an icy hoof into the ground. Anna grins. "That'a boy!" She reaches up and grabs the pummel of the leather saddle, puts her foot in the stirrup and hauls herself gracefully onto Leo's back. As she gets herself situated, the head groom asks:

"So when should I expect your return, your highness?"

Anna's movements freeze. She clears her throat and takes the reins as nonchalantly as she can manage.

"At some point." She says, forcing a laugh that actually comes out half decent. The head groom smiles politely, but still stands by for an answer. Anna smiles, the broken edge of it more noticeable than usual. "It's okay. You'll know soon enough. Hya!" Anna snaps the reins and kicks back into Leo's icy flanks. Leo rears and whinnies for show, then gallops out of the stable with May and Lila on his flanks, leaving a very confused groom in their wake.

Anna hovers over the saddle and leans forward to cut the wind. Compared to the snow and ice beneath her and the cold flurry above her, the wind whipping by her is a comfortable morning warm. Taking in a deep breath, she lets it out slowly was she speeds over the courtyard and through the front gates, forcing herself not to look back as she takes the cobblestone bridge to the city.

The odd few people awake send her a wave or a smile, but she otherwise is left unhindered as she makes her way to the docks. Slowing Leo into a canter, Anna steers him to where the cobblestone meets the wood of the pier. Reining Leo into a slow trot as he passes the threshold from stone to wood, Anna lets out a shaky breath as she examines the only two ships getting ready to pull up anchor. Her stomach flips.

"It's okay; Elsa made my ship. It won't capsize. Elsa's a better builder than that – she would have accounted for random weather bouts. I'll be fine." Anna murmurs nervously under her breath, trying her best to keep her cool.

Jasper, pacing at the beginning of his ship's dock, lights up upon seeing the princess. He smiles broadly and stops pacing, waiting for Anna to reach him.

_Well, there's no way I'm getting out of this conversation_. Anna thinks, wincing internally. Halting Leo and jumping off, she slaps his rump gently and points to Royal Grace.

"Go ahead." She orders, to which Leo immediately obeys. Walking the last couple meters to Jasper, Anna forces a smile. "Good morning." She strains, trying her best to keep herself collected. Jasper's smile widens into a grin and he bows his head.

"It's certainly is a fine morning with you around." He says. Anna frowns.

"You say that like you weren't expecting me to show up." She says. Jasper hums thoughtfully.

"I admit after seeing Elsa's . . ."—he searches for the right word—"performance,"—he sticks with—"I had my doubts, but there's no need for that anymore." He offers his hand. "Thank you." Anna blinks and stares at the hand for a second before taking it and shaking it gently. Jasper smiles and releases. "Okay, so I've already talked to your helmsmen and sorted everything out with, er, her? Her, yeah, let's stick with that.

"Our ship is going to take the lead and the Royal Grace is going to follow us to ensure everyone is going on the right path. At night our ships will be lined parallel before we drop anchor, that way, if we so wish, we can drop a gangplank and check in with each other, discuss the issue of Pryne further or whatever. When we—"

"Royal Grace is twice the size of yours." Anna interrupts. "Do you have a gangplank that can compensate for that?"

"No." Jasper concedes. "But I've talked to your helmsmen and she's ensured me that you are properly equipped for that."

"Good. Good." Anna nods. "Please continue." Jasper nods in thanks.

"When we get closer to Iloa I'll discuss public opinion of Arendelle and go over some things that you shouldn't do—"

"Wait." Anna frowns. "Has their view of us gone sour?" Jasper shakes his head immediately.

"No, of course not. It's just a matter of making sure you don't scare the populace by not adhering to our way of being. Most of our standards you already relatively live by, but the main thing is not freaking people out by bombarding them with the mass amount of snow golems on your ship. You have to steadily introduce them or else they might feel threatened; like how you felt threatened by the prospect of my whole crew going on shore leave at the same time." Jasper explains, eying Anna for any sign of offence. For her part, Anna just huffs a knowing laugh.

"Okay, yeah – that I get." She says, twitching a smile. "Is there anything else I need to know before we set sail?" Jasper glances up in thought, then shakes his head gently.

"I don't believe so. If there is, we can always discuss it when we drop anchor for the night."

"Perfect!" Anna chirps, grinning much more enthusiastically than she feels. "So I guess we shou—"

"Anna, wait!"

Anna whirls. So do May and Lila, already preparing to defend. Anna and the beasts relax at the same moment as they see Kristoff atop of Sven racing down the pier. Jasper smiles and nods politely.

"I'll wait for signal aboard my ship." He says, excusing himself to give Anna privacy. Anna silently thanks him for it.

Kristoff leaps off Sven haphazardly and sprints towards the girl, instantly scooping her up in his arms and holding her tightly.

"I thought I was going to miss you." He mumbles fretfully. Anna hugs him back and smiles, wanting to dispel the poignant tension.

"What, so you're not going to anymore? Going to throw a party to celebrate my leaving?" She jibes, humour lacing her tone. Kristoff pulls back and holds a hand over his heart in mock offence.

"Why, I never!"

Anna laughs at the man's failed attempt at formal speech. "Whatever. Hey, could you do me a favour while I'm gone?" Kristoff's features sober immediately.

"Anything." He says. Anna twitches a faint smile at his unconditional compliance.

"Look after Elsa for me." She says, her voice almost a whisper. Kristoff's eyes soften. Anna swallows the lump threatening to form in her throat. "Team up with Gerta – that woman is the only one other than me who can break through to Elsa when she's spiraling. Promise me you'll look out for her."

"Of course." Kristoff breathes. "I'll always look out for you two."

"Then just double your efforts while I'm gone." Anna stresses, wringing her hands together nervously. "She . . . she's not meant to be alone. She can't handle it." Kristoff, sympathy flooding his eyes, wraps the princess into his arms.

"Neither are you, Anna." He whispers. Anna's eyes mist and she grabs fistfuls of the man's tunic and crushes him in the tightest hug she can muster, not even relenting when she hears him wheeze and gasp for air.

Pulling away sharply and wiping at her eyes with two hasty motions, Anna stands tall and nods her head in a way befitting her stature. "I'll see you when I get back." She states. Kristoff smiles, but it doesn't quite hide his anguish.

"Good, because I'm throwing a party for when you return home."

Anna laughs. "You better let someone else do the planning, then."

"Hey!" Kristoff retorts, crossing his arms over his chest. "I'm not that incompetent."

"When it comes to hosting a party that the entire kingdom is going to want to come to?" Anna asks, raising an incriminating eyebrow. Kristoff flusters and shifts uneasily.

"Okay, uh . . . I _might_ just leave that to the council, then." He relents, frowning at the thought of him having to plan a celebration of that magnitude. Anna barks a laugh and claps the taller man on the shoulder.

"You can be an adviser or consultant, how about that?" Anna asks, a twinkle of amusement in her eyes. Kristoff grins.

"I think I can handle that." He allows. The two stare at each other, letting the joking slide away until they're simply looking into each others' eyes, conveying every swirling emotion inside of them through the silence. When Kristoff's eyes start to well with tears, Anna smiles softly and breaks the moment.

"See you later, Kristoff." She whispers. He twitches a forced smile.

"See you when you when you get back, feisty-pants." He says. Anna nods somberly and turns heel, striding purposefully down the peer to Royal Grace's dock, missing Kristoff's sad, watery smile.

Anna shifts uneasily as she walks down Royal Grace's dock to the icy gangplank at the end. The ship is so tall that the plank is almost at a seventy degree angle, with steps etched into it to make it less awkward to climb. She silently wonders how the hell Leo was able to get up.

_Then again_—she relents—_he is a snow animal, and a absurdly talented one, at that_.

When she reaches the plank, she is forced to climb with the aid of her hands. She suspects once she gets use to the steep nature of it she'll be able to climb the thing normally but, for now, she'll forgo the embarrassment of falling off from lack of precision.

She breathes a sigh of relief as she hauls herself over the railing and onto the riveted ice of the deck, May and Lila leaping over effortlessly behind her. She walks away from the gangplank as two snow golems move to hoist it up.

A particularly short and stocky golem—still notably taller than Anna, but small when compared to the sizes of the other golems—in unique elegantly sharp armour with snowflake designs over it, approaches Anna. They stop at the proper royal distance and bows politely.

"I am Captain Elroy, your highness. My existence has been solely commissioned to act as your protector in coherence with your existing guards." Elroy says, his voice rumbling deep within his chest. May and Lila cock their heads curiously. Lila edges her head forward and takes a tentative step towards the golem, sniffing. Elroy tilts his head, watching the beast with interest.

Recognition—that Anna can't see from her position behind the beast—flashes in Lila's eyes and she sits, tilting her head in child-like curiosity as she stares up at the golem. May, not far behind, starts trotting around Elroy with a cheerful bounce. Anna frowns at the display.

"That's . . . weird." Anna says, slowly. Elroy looks up to her, puzzled.

"Why is that?" He asks. Anna frowns as May plops into a seated position to Elroy's right, acting very much like Sven when Kristoff lets him get his way. Anna gestures vaguely to the beasts.

"They never act this way around strangers. Hell, _I've_ only see them act like this maybe four times, and each time was because they got their way in something I was avidly against." She says, her frown deepening when Lila rubs an armoured cheek against Elroy's breastplate, a purr rumbling in her throat. Elroy tilts his head in confusion.

"Perhaps you refused having additional personal guards, and they wanted otherwise?" He suggests. Anna shakes her head, her eyes fading in thought.

"No, they're overly protective of me – they wouldn't just accept a newbie protector without question. No offence."

"No taken, your highness." Elroy replies. Anna opens her mouth to ask the golem to stop referring to her so formally, but the guard continues. "Could it be that her majesty created me in her likeness?" Anna's eyes snap up to meet the golem's.

"What do you mean?" She demands, roving her eyes over Elroy's figure.

_He doesn't look like her at all._ Anna criticizes, her eyes narrowing. _And Elsa's not a man._

Elroy holds up his massive hands in a pacifying motion, seeming to understand Anna's train of thought with scary precision. "Likeness in personality, not looks." He explains, lowering his hands when he sees Anna calm. "Her exact words were; 'if I can't be there to protect her, I'll damn well make sure my persona is.' She also muttered something about the other golems not being over protective enough." Anna bellows a laughs.

"That sounds like her!" Anna hoots, barking in good humour. Elroy smiles beneath his see-through icy helm.

"Then I trust I am to your liking, your highness?"

"Okay, hold it right there." Anna says, holding out her hand in a halting motion. "If you're going to be my protector for an extended period I refuse that you remain formal." Anna shrugs and lowers her arm. "If you truly have Elsa's personality, it really shouldn't be that hard." Elroy freezes, a calculating look passing through his eyes as he considers Anna's words. Anna smiles – it's a look she's seen on Elsa many times.

"In all due respect,"—Elroy says, slowly—"I'm not the queen. I cannot replace her."

"Humour me." Anna deadpans. When Elroy says nothing, Anna raises a challenging eyebrow. To her surprise, Elroy actually clears his throat.

_That is_ so _Elsa_. Anna squeals in her head, trying her best to keep her outer features neutral. _I don't know if Elsa has given me the best gift in the world or given me a torture sentence._ She frowns internally, still keeping her outer mask a dare.

"Right." Elroy finally says, his mind made up. "How would you like me to address you?" Anna smiles kindly.

"Anna's fine." She says gently. Elroy's posture relaxes, barely enough to notice but somehow Anna catches it.

_I didn't think golems held tension over such things as common interaction._ Anna contemplates, giving Elroy a second look over.

"Alright, Anna." Elroy says, the amused hint in his voice drawing Anna's attention back to his face. "If you're good to go,"—he continues—"I need to signal Jasper and get us sailing."

The mention of sailing makes Anna's somber appearance come back and she winces, barely registering the regret that flashes in Elroy's eyes. Anna nods sharply, not trusting her voice. Elroy, in comparison, nods tenderly.

"Very well." He says, his booming voice surprisingly gentle. He gestures to the door beside the set of stairs leading below deck. "You are more than welcome to stay in the captain's cabin until I can give you a tour of the ship." Anna raises an eyebrow.

"Okay, question." She says. "You just said that you're captain, so does that make the captain's cabin yours?" To her surprise, Elroy laughs.

"For what purpose could I possibly need it?" He asks, a twinkle of amusement in his eyes. "My purpose is to protect you, not write letters or handle business – if the cabin were mine it'd be wasted space." At the mention of business, Anna's ears perk up.

"Actually, that brings up another question." She says. Elroy, at the sudden change in Anna's demeanor, eyes her warily. Anna continues without care of Elroy's caution. "Since you have Elsa's personality, does that also mean you have her smarts? I mean, it'd be nice to have a partner in all this negotiation crap."

Elroy goes stock stiff so fast Anna swears his helm would have flew off if it wasn't attached to his armour. All traces of amusement, once always flickering in the background, snap from his face entirely. Anna barely stops herself from wincing at the abrupt change.

"I am not a negotiator." Elroy grinds, his voice hard despite his best efforts to keep it level. "You are the face and voice of Arendelle, not me – and Elsa would not be allowing you to leave if she didn't have the upmost faith in your abilities. All I can offer you is moral support and lend you an ear when you wish to let something out. This is your duty, not mine; because I am _not_ a substitute for Elsa."

This time Anna actually does wince.

Elroy doesn't look like he can justify taking back his harsh words and instead bows sharply. "I'll find you once we are out of the fjord." He says briskly. He straightens and turns heel, making for the bridge while effortlessly barking commands and signaling Jasper to get sailing as he takes the stairs to the helm two at a time.

Anna watches Elroy's retreat, completely shaken.

Elroy shares such striking resemblances to Elsa that Anna didn't expect the sudden bite that overtook his words. May and Lila, to Anna's astonishment, look displeased but otherwise accepting of the golem's behaviour.

_What the hell is going on with those two?_ Anna asks, righteous anger pumping through her veins. _They're suppose to protect me yet they take the side of that stupid Elsa wannabe_—

Anna's thoughts pause, realization washing over her. She nearly slaps herself in the face for not noticing.

The three snow creatures don't want Anna using Elroy as a crutch.

_He could have just told me._ Anna grumbles in her head, making her way to the captain's cabin. _Then again_—her thoughts continue—_would I have really listened to him? I mean, he would have just reminded me of Elsa even more if he was diplomatic about it._

Concluding that no, she would not have listened, Anna sighs and enters the cabin.

Her movements freeze instantly.

Her mouth falls open in awe as she takes in the room. The floors and walls are covered in fancy, insulated fabric to keep in warmth and the chair behind the table has been covered tastefully in royal blue cushy fabric. The bookshelf and table, though uncovered, are made of flawless glass-like ice, not interweaved with snow like the rest of the ship. Anna walks up to the bookcase and scans the collection adorning it. Along with some of her favourite books—and ones she's wanted to read but never got around to it—there's books and ledgers on trade, negotiation and history books on Iloa and Pryne. On bottom three shelves are an abundance of quills, inks and parchment. Anna smiles affectionately.

Turning to the desk, Anna is startled to see two ice swords tactfully hidden on the broad part of the table facing, and on either side of, the chair.

_For easy and unknown access_. Anna thinks, remembering clearly that she could not see the weapons from the other wise of the desk. _The table is see-through as to put any who enter at ease because they see that I carry nothing. Smart, Elsa. Very clever._

Silently Anna curses her adopted sibling. Not out of hatred, but out of jealousy. All of these thoughtful, tactful and seemingly small gestures that Elsa put into the creation of these ship makes Anna feel entirely unworthy. Anna would have never thought far enough ahead to put in some of these safety features. She suddenly feels entirely unworthy of being the one to discuss peace. What the hell does she have to offer that Elsa doesn't have plenty more of? A knack for making bad decisions.

Sighing, Anna flumps heavily onto the padded chair and rubs her eyes. May and Lila take their respective places on either side of the desk with once again May on the right and Lila on the left. The familiar rhythm almost makes Anna laugh, but the lurch of the ship leaving dock stops her.

"It's okay." Anna mutters to herself, leaning her head back on the chair and looking up that the snowy ice ceiling. "Elsa's a freak for safety, so obviously every random freak of nature is accounted for. I'm going to be fine. Totally."

Anna doesn't know how long she sits mumbling like this, but before long there's a confident knock echoing through the room. Anna jumps.

"Uh, come in." She says, trying to shake her trembling. Elroy gently opens the door and steps inside, nodding his head politely.

"We are officially clear of the fjord, princess. I've come to offer you a tour of the ship." Elroy says, his deep voice as smooth as caramel despite the bitter bite that had been in it not a half hour before. Anna smiles and stands, making her way around the desk.

"I'd love a tour." She says, hoping any hard feelings from before are now left behind them. Elroy nods in compliance.

"Lovely. First on the list,"—he gestures around him—"this is the captain's cabin. Is it to your liking?"

Anna can't stop the genuine, affectionate smile that spreads over her lips when she remembers all this—the hidden swords, the books, the parchment—was made, ordered and arranged by Elsa especially for her.

"I love it."

Elroy's face softens and a look passes through his eyes that Anna can't quite place. Before she can ask, Elroy nods again and walks out the door, waving for Anna to follow him. Anna, forcing herself out of her stupor, scrambles after the golem and follows him below deck. Elroy explains every room as he passes them.

"This is the storage area, housing everything from food, extra equipment to double supplies of anything the Royal Grace might need. That is an indoor training facility, housing an arrangement of blunt steel and ice weapons, and conditioning material. If you are so inclined, you are allowed to train above deck and, if you want a sparring partner, you can use any member of the crew. Here is the kitchen, and that is the golem that will be stationed here at all times to handle your needs when you require anything outside of your regular meals. You can also come here to request certain things be made, a specific way you'd like something done, or if you just want to chat.

"Here are all our cannons. As you can see all the holes they shoot out of are closed, so as far as the outside world is concerned we have no defensive weapon capability at sea." Elroy gestures to the row upon row of ice cannons and the mass of snow golems attending to them. Anna's mouth drops.

"But, this is a peace ship."

Elroy gives Anna a funny look. "Iloa's situation with Pryne hasn't been officially recognized, meaning that even if Pryne has agreed to peace talks—which is still uncertain, might I add—they are not legally bound to uphold their end of the deal. If they agree and talks fall through or they don't and fighting breaks anyway, this ship has to be ready to defend itself. Do you think Elsa would leave you floating helpless in dangerous waters? That doesn't only translate into cannons, either – do you how many snow golems she has on this ship to protect you?"

"A hundred." Anna answers instantly, ignoring the rest of Elroy's rant in favour of reciting the number the council agreed on. Again, Elroy gives her a look.

"How long was Elsa on this ship alone?" Elroy asks. Anna frowns.

"I . . . I don't know." She admits.

"From what you've seen of the ship so far, how much room do you think it houses? Hell, how many do you think this room alone could hold?" He asks, leading Anna to an obvious conclusion that she pales at.

"How many did she create?" Anna asks.

"Not including me my crew count is four hundred fifty-eight, so just over three hundred and a half."

Anna physically slaps herself in the face. "For fuck sakes, Elsa. The point of a skeleton crew is to _not_ have a military presence. This is _exactly_ what we wanted to avoid." She scolds. Elroy shifts uneasily.

"In her defense,"—he starts, almost timidly—"no Iloa citizen will be allowed aboard, and if anyone does enter there are plenty of open spaces where the golems can pile up and look like a random supply of ice and snow." Anna scowls and gestures crossly to the cannons.

"And how the hell are you going to hide this?" She accuses. "Because I don't think this categorizes in any form of the words 'peaceful and friendly'!"

"Snow golem pile ups." Elroy explains calmly. "All extra crew can pile in here, and there is supplies in the supply room and in here to block off this entrance and make it look like nothing exists behind it. No one in Iloa has seen, been on or explored an ice boat before, so no one can attest to what is needed and what is not to keep it afloat." Anna stares at Elroy for a long, hard beat – a look of mild disbelief on her face.

"Did you and Elsa just get together and discuss every possible question I might have and form rebuttals for them or what?"

"No."

"So you just came up with this on your own, eh? Huh. Do I have to keep you when I return back to Arendelle?"

"Do I displease you?"

"No, I just don't want you and Elsa ganging up on me."

Elroy actually grins at that.

"That won't be a problem."

Anna blinks in alarm, not expecting the easy win. "Wait, what?" She asks. "If you're not my guard, won't you be Elsa's? Or at least hanging around the castle? Or, you know, somewhere her and I might be at the same time that you might happen to be as well?" Elroy's eyes cloud in thought. When he speaks again he speaks slowly, choosing his words carefully.

"I doubt a personality so close to Elsa's will do her any good to constantly be around. As for my station after all this is over . . . I honestly haven't been made for anything other than this, so I don't know what I'd do. Since I have Elsa's persona, however, I don't think I'd be able to last in the regular guard duty life of most golems. I'd probably drive myself insane, honestly." Elroy shrugs. "I'll probably just ask Elsa to melt me."

"What?" Anna blurts, making Elroy jump in surprise. A look of tortured memories and emotions flash through the princess's eyes. "You can't simply wish for death, can you? You're Elsa's embodied persona, for fucks sake! Elsa has more drive to live than anyone else I know, didn't that transfer to you, as well?" A conflicted emotion that, again, Anna can't place, flickers through Elroy's eyes.

"My reason for living is you, Anna." He says, far softer than she would have expected. "I don't know what her reasons are, perhaps they're the same, but all I know was that I was made with the purpose of protecting you, looking out for you, comforting you – being there for _you_. You were the reason I was created, so when you no longer need me, I . . ." Elroy sees the pain and sorrow storming in Anna's eyes, and can't seem to bring himself to finish that sentence the way he originally intended. Instead, he mutters: "I'd need to be issued a new charge to look after."

Surprise—and relief—floods Anna's eyes at Elroy's sudden trajectory change. Of course she knows it isn't what he believes, but Anna will be sure to sway that, like his answer, soon enough.

She can't bear to lose anyone else.

Smiling thankfully, Anna chuckles awkwardly and rubs the back of her neck.

"So, what about that tour?" She prompts. Elroy's eyes flash in recollection, as if forgetting that that's what he was doing.

"Oh right." He says, turning and walking out of the cannon room. Anna suppresses a laugh and follows after him. "The only remaining place is your room. It has been custom decorated and organized completely by Elsa – not even the ones bringing supplies were allowed inside. As far as I'm aware, you'll be the only other person to set foot in it." Anna laughs.

"I think that'd be more impressive if the ship hadn't of just been made yesterday." She says, mirth sparkling in her eyes.

"Considering the amount of supplies being brought to your room, it's actually more impressive than you think." Elroy says, not bothering to elaborate. Anna frowns, but shrugs it off follows the golem in silence. After making a couple more turns, Elroy stops in front of a door and gestures to it. "If you'll do the honours?" A ridiculous grin plasters itself on Anna's lips.

"Of course!"

Striding purposefully towards the door, she twists the handle and flings it open. Her mouth drops in shock.

The room is covered head to toe in rich greens and blues. The only evidence that the room is made of ice is the uncovered ceiling, but other than that everything is lavishly decorated with plush, comfortable and insulated fabric. The four poster double bed on the right side of the room obviously has one of the softest mattress and comforters Elsa could get, and at the foot of the bed is a large wooden chest – probably housing her clothes and other things she was bringing with her. On the left side of the room are three armour racks; two are filled will the same style of steel armour she wore doing the war, and the last—in the exact same style as the steel—is a snow-entrapped ice version, the plume made with delicate detail to look like strands of her regular plume.

Beside the armour racks is a weapons rack, housing four sheathed steel swords—one a backup for the other, no doubt—and two ice swords in snow-encased ice sheathes. On the far wall is a desk and chair carefully encased in fabrics to mask the fact that they're made of ice. The desk, otherwise clear, has one tiny rounded box adorning it.

Anna breathes in awe.

"Elsa, she—" not finishing her thought, Anna steps gingerly into the room, almost as if it's a spell she's scared to break. She roves her eyes over the room for a long moment before turning to Elroy with misty eyes. "Elsa did this for me?"

Elroy's eyes soften and he nods softly, not wanting to break the delicate moment with sound.

Anna turns back to the room, her mouth half slack in amazement. Elsa had truly spared no expense, and it makes Anna's heart soar and plummet at the same time.

How is Elsa going to make it through this?

Anna's eye catches the little box on the desk and walks towards it. Unknown to her, Elroy shifts nervously in the doorway. Anna stops before the desk and picks up the little box, only then remembering that Elsa had told her she'd left a present for her. She turns to Elroy.

"Is this the surprise Elsa left me?" She asks. Elroy nods, ever silent. Anna turns back to the box and wipes her suddenly clammy hand on her pants. Her hands shake as she finally brings up her other hand to open the box. She takes in a steadying breath and lets it out slowly, then opens the case.

Inside is a silver ring with a baby blue snowflake engraved into it.

And a message saying; "Marry me?"

Anna stares at the small package with a blank look, her brain shorting out. It takes her a full four seconds before she realizes exactly what these duel objects mean.

"_What?_" She practically screams. She turns to Elroy, completely livid. "Did you know about this?" Shocked, Elroy raises his hands in innocence and shakes his head. Anna, practically shaking with anger, slams the box back on the desk. "Could her timing get any worse?" She shouts, aggressively pacing back and forth. "I mean _really_, Elsa, I'm going into a possible war zone alone and the thing you decide to give me is _this?_" She whips on the ring and shoves an enraged finger at it. "You didn't even have the guts to ask me to my face? For fuck's sake, Elsa, what the hell is _wrong_ with you!"

Elroy timidly shifts and clears his throat. Anna whips on him with bared teeth and piercing eyes.

"What?" She growls. Elroy loses his nerve and immediately bows far lower than is expected of him.

"I'll leave you alone." He says, snapping upright and all but running away.

To Anna's surprise, May and Lila actually glare at her.

_It's because you're being harsh and unreasonable_. She scolds herself, turning her head and side glancing the ring. The muscles in her jaw bulge and her eyes narrow.

"For good reason." She growls, turning heel and stalking out of her room, not taking a second glance at the ring she leaves in her wake.

* * *

No one has talked to Anna in over three hours. Of course everyone is aware of where she is, but none of the golems wants to test their hand with her when she's in the training room absolutely pulverizing every golem who sets foot in it.

It's her fault, Elsa knows, and that only serves to make her feel worse.

Of _course_ she would have asked Anna face-to-face if she could have in good conscious. As it stands, Elsa knows that Anna would have refused to leave with the final progression of their relationship at hand and called everything off with Iloa. Elsa knows that the logical course of action after that would be to simply wait until the younger girl arrived back home, but she couldn't. With stability as fragile as it is, Elsa needed Anna to have something to fight for – a promise for something wonderful that only her securing peace could achieve.

_Well, that turned out great, didn't it?_ Elsa reprimands. _She flipped out and now she's goading golem after golem to fight her. She's lucky they know when to stop when it comes to practice battles._

"Elroy, are you okay?"

Elsa turns to the helmsmen, Moira. She's easily twice Elsa's size and has armour heavier than three times Elsa's weight, but she's soft and caring, and Elsa appreciates having her around.

"Not really." Elsa replies, not bothering to hide her obvious disgruntle. Everyone on this ship knows who she really is besides Anna anyway, so even if she had lied convincingly Moira would have to put two and two together.

"You should talk to her." Moira says, her words flowing as easily as the calm rocking of the Royal Grace.

"I should." Elsa admits. "But it's hard to think of how to talk to her while still keeping my identity secret." Moira gives Elsa a sidelong glance.

"Isn't it easier to confront someone who is angry with you when they are unaware that it's you?" She asks, calmly – soothingly. "You can speak to her with the knowledge of Elsa because you were 'made' by her, but act with the detachment of Elroy. You have the best of both worlds here. Just go down there, accept her battle challenge if you must, and try to knock some sense into her. It's bad enough that it's not even noon of the first day and our princess is already going berserk."

Elsa sighs and rubs the back of her neck, though awkwardly – like she still isn't used to her new body proportions yet. Moira smirks, amused, but refrains from commenting – much to Elsa's delight. She already knows how bizarre she must look, a short stocky creature—by golem standards—whose movements are still far from refined. By some stroke of luck Elsa's been able to keep herself together in front of Anna, but away from her . . . well, she's working on it.

"Will you save me if she doesn't listen?" Elsa asks. Moira smirks.

"I have a boat to sail."

Elsa rolls her eyes. "Whatever." She turns and heads for the stairs leading to the main deck. "I'll go about calming down the princess."

"Good luck."

"Thanks, I'll need it." Elsa replies, turning and heading below deck.

It had been something, watching Anna react to the things Elsa had done to the ship without the knowledge that the one who created it was right there watching her. While it was painful, it was also oddly refreshing. This was Anna when Elsa wasn't around. Then again it didn't work out so well with the ring, but Elsa was determined to turn that around.

Stopping in front of the door to the indoor training facility, Elsa takes a preparation breath and lets it out slowly. Pushing open the door, she steps into the room.

Anna, flustered and panting, sits against one of the side walls with two dud ice swords in her hands. A defeated snow golem pushes up from the floor and turns to Elsa. Anna, also noticing the older girl—well, golem—turns her head to her. Upon recognizing her, Anna's eyes narrow, her anger flaring up anew.

"Elroy." She growls, obviously pointing her anger at Elsa at a golem who shares the queen's persona. If only the younger girl knew.

Elsa motions for the other golem to leave and walks further into the room. May and Lila, guarding Anna from a distance—not wanting to get to close—tilt their heads and watch Elsa curiously, seeing what she's going to do.

Stopping in front of the princess, Elsa gives a proper bow.

"You have been at this for some time." Elsa notes, rising back to her full height. Anger sparks in Anna's eyes and she scowls.

"That's all you have to say to me?" Her voice is low and dangerous. Elsa chooses her words carefully.

"What do you want me to say?" She asks, genuinely interested. It must carry into the deep rumble of her golem voice, because Anna bolts to her feet and stands face-to-face with Elsa, looking her down even with the height difference.

"You could start by apologizing." She says, her voice a dangerous hiss. "You could start by admitting you're a fucking idiot and that if you weren't a cowered you would have asked me to my face."

"I'm not Elsa." Elsa says, evenly. "Would it really make a difference if you hear those words from me?"

"You _are_ Elsa!" Anna spits, spittle flying from her mouth. "You are her personally bundled into a indestructible pack of ice and snow and I have to live with it! I have to live with you, _this_ Elsa, knowing you are almost everything she is yet you are nothing alike! I have to deal with Elsa _asking me to marry her_ without even bothering to give me a goddamn chance to answer!" Anna grinds her teeth, tears welling in her eyes. "All I have is _you_, but no matter how fucking similar you are you aren't her. I can't talk to you about shit we did or build on conversations we've had or start new conversations based on our history together because _we have no history_. I met you this morning on this blasted boat – I met the embodiment of Elsa's emotions without the memories to support or justify them, yet you follow them without knowing why.

"I literally _feel_ how much you care about me pulsating off you in waves, and the fucked up thing is that they feel so similar, so familiar, that I want you to be Elsa. I want to go day to day with you building on the relationship you and I don't have because I love Elsa, and I don't want to be apart from her." Anna squeezes her eyes shut and she wipes angrily at her eyes. "I just want to look her in the eye when she asks me to be with her forever and see the joy in her eyes when I say 'yes'." Anna sobs and heatedly throws her dud swords across the room. "She couldn't give me that." Anna's hands start to tremble and her legs start to shake. She hisses and stumbles to the wall and leans against it for support. "She couldn't even give me that."

Elsa's heart clenches painfully in her chest and she has to forcedly swallow the lump in her throat.

"Maybe . . . maybe she wanted that, too." Elsa says, her voice strained but, by some stroke of luck, strong. Anna gives Elsa a pained and confused look.

"I don't— what do you mean?" She asks, struggling to keep a rein on her emotions. It only serves to tighten the vice on Elsa's heart.

"Do you really think Elsa would have asked you like this if she thought there was no other way?" Elsa asks rhetorically, gauging Anna's reactions as she continues: "don't you think her preference would be to ask you in person? You know Elsa, you know she loves you and that she considers your wishes, comforts and beliefs in everything she does. Just look around you." Elsa gestures around her. "Elsa did all of this for you. Everything that is or on the Royal Grace is all made and designed for you. Why would she go through all that and tactlessly leave a 'marry me' ring on your table? Hm?" Anna shifts uncomfortably.

"I don't know." Anna says, self-consciously. Elsa's tone lightens.

"If she'd asked you before you left you never would have got on this ship." Elsa continues. "You would have looked the consequences in the eye and tell them to fuck off – you would have never willingly left Arendelle without your wedding planned and completed. But Iloa doesn't have that time, and Elsa knew that, so she didn't ask you."

"She could have waited until I got home." Anna rebuttals, a watery scowl upturning her lips. Elsa nods thoughtfully.

"True." She says, slowly. "But you are headed into dangerous waters without certainty that peace will hold. Maybe she feared for the worst—you know how she is—and she couldn't live with the thought of you never knowing. Or perhaps it was something of an opposite and she wanted to give you extra motivation to make these peace contracts work because she's waiting for you back home; waiting for you to meet her at the altar." Elsa takes a step forward and carefully lays a gentle hand on Anna's shoulder. "She loves you. No matter how it looks, she was just doing everything she could _while_ she could to make sure you get home safe and sound.

"She didn't mean to uproot you, she was just doing the best she could. I'm sorry that I'm not her, that I can't give you what you need – but I know how she feels." Elsa lays her free hand over the armour covering her snowy chest. "I admit I don't have the history behind these sentiments, but the emotions are so pure that I . . . I just have to follow them. They lead and urge me to protect the woman my creator values more than anyone else in the world, and I will protect that happiness, that purity, until my ending days." Anna chuckles wetly.

"Neither of us can really be considered 'pure' with the path of blood we carved behind us."

Elsa smiles compassionately. "Fighting because you had to protect the people you care about is different than fighting for the sake of fighting. The bravest of us are not only the ones who choose not to strike the final blow, but also the ones who do even though they don't want to." Anna's eyes flicker away, her eyes fading in thought. Elsa's smile widens kindly. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm . . ." Anna glances back to Elsa before flickering around the room. "Conflicted. I'm better, but conflicted." Elsa tilts her head curiously.

"About what?"

"You." Anna says, twitching a pained smile. "For all your attempts at pushing me away so I don't use you as a crutch, all you seem to do is pull me closer." Her smile fades and she stares grimly at a point behind Elsa. "I don't think I have enough willpower to resist it."

Elsa chews on her lower lip, desperately searching for some sort of solution. Eventually she says:

"You recognise that I'm not Elsa though, right?"

Anna smiles bitterly. "For now."

"If I agree that you can use me an emotional crutch when the weight of it proves too heavy for you to carry, will you—even if you get attached to me from my similar personality—still consciously recognise that I am just a vague embodiment of the original?" Elsa asks. Anna's eyes flash in shock and she examines Elsa's golem face carefully. Finding no falsehood, Anna's face softens and she smiles faintly.

"If you would allow it, I will gladly keep the two of you as separate entities." She says, relief flooding her words.

Elsa searches Anna's eyes for any possible lies in her commitment. This early on in the game, mistakes could simply not be afforded. Finding no ill will or deception, Elsa smiles kind-heartedly.

"Then I will be here to catch you and hold you strong when your emotions and burdens seek to bring you down."

Anna beams and she launches herself at the golem, wrapping her arms around Elsa's neck and her legs—mostly—around Elsa's middle. Anna's grunts.

"With you being fatter than Elsa, I think it'll be easy to remember."

Elsa raises an eyebrow. "You mean the fact that I'm a snow golem doesn't?" Anna laughs and lets go, landing gracefully.

"Apparently not?" She says, eying Elsa for approval of her answer. Elsa sees the playful spark that twinkles in Anna's eyes and rolls her own.

"Whatever." Elsa says, turning and walking towards the door.

"Wait!" Anna calls after her. The sudden desperate note in the girl's tone makes Elsa turn back around. Anna wrings her hands together nervously. "Regarding Elsa, do you think she knows my answer?" Knowing the girl is referring back to the marriage proposal, Elsa smiles broadly.

"I don't think she would have done it this way if she hadn't."


	4. When the Knocking Grows Louder

"Drop the anchor!"

Anna watches passively from her side of the helm—the right side of Moira—as Elroy orders around the golems. Already the ship has pulled parallel to Jasper's and the sails are almost completely lifted and tied. A few golem stand ready with an insanely heavy-weight and long gangplank, made completely of riveted see-through ice. Elsa probably did that latter detail to scare others from crossing it.

It's the tenth night of their journey, but Anna can safely say she is not any more comfortable on the swaying boat than she was at the beginning. She accepts it as reality and chooses not to actively fret about it, but that's about it. She doesn't complain about it—at least not around those who can talk back—because she doesn't want to get dragged into a conversation about the exact thing she's trying not to think about.

Unconsciously Anna twists the ring on her left hand. She admits she still wants to punch Elsa in the face for her tactlessness, but it still binds her to the older girl. Perhaps that's all she needs.

"Lower the gangplank!" Elroy's deep voice booms, easily carrying across the deck of the ship. Anna gives him a look.

Despite Elroy's words on the first day, the two of them haven't actually spoken all that much. Anna admits it's because she's been huddled in the cabin's cabin working and reading or simply training with a randomly selected golem, but still. The last time they had a conversation—if you can call it that—was when Anna asked Elroy how his day was going after his usual morning reports two days ago. Elroy had given an awkward vague answer and left. He obviously doesn't like talking about himself or having too much unexpected attention on him. It's almost like he's . . . shy? Yeah, that might be the right word.

With the gangplank latched into place—it literally has to be latched because of the non-riveted ice railing—Anna retreats from the bridge and hops down the stairs to the deck. It's the same routine every time – Anna and her tigers go across to Jasper's ship, have a few laughs with the crew, retreat to the captain's cabin for updates and then returns to the Royal Grace. Anna thinks it's strange that Elroy never insists on going with her—considering Elsa's overprotective nature—but once Anna leaves the golem practically vanishes until morning. It's very . . . human – like he likes time alone.

When Anna reaches the gangplank, she looks back and sees Elroy hovering by the stairs leading below deck. He always does that – makes sure she gets across safely before disappearing until morning. Anna smiles. Elroy smiles back. He looks more exhausted than usual, Anna notes. This should probably make Anna wonder, but with his intricate personality—even more complex than most humans, let alone snow golems—she can't bring herself to be surprised.

Turning back to the gangplank, Anna hoists herself up and—with a learned semi-ease that hasn't quite compensated for the rolls of the waves combined with the forty degree angle of the gangplank from ship to ship—makes her way to the other vessel.

Anna smiles as she jumps onto the deck and shakes hands with Jasper.

After the fourth night, Jasper finally started dropping his formality in favour of more familiar gestures. Anna was thankful for it because Jasper and her have a history that, as much as she hates to admit it, is more than just blood, smoke and death. Despite all odds, even when they met for peace talks in his fleet two years ago, he was accommodating and more than willing to accept fair compromise when it was proposed. He wasn't stuck up in his ways or trying to feed his ego – he honestly wanted what was best, and he still does.

"Fine night, isn't it?" Jasper asks, wearing a warm smile that easily reaches his eyes. Anna can't help but smile back.

"Definitely better than the downpour yesterday." Anna says, chuckling lightly.

It'd been raining so bad yesterday that Anna had slipped on the gangplank and ended up using it as a slide to Jasper's ship—lucky actually making it there instead of falling into the ocean—and had to spend the night with Jasper's crew. She spent most of it explaining that snow creatures control their own ice so they can create it and despite it at will, meaning they can cover all their snowy areas with ice and make themselves waterproof. It'd been . . . interesting, trying to explain Elsa's creatures properties to people who knew nothing about it.

Anyway, the next morning—_this_ morning—Elroy was waiting by the gangplank pacing, worried and far from impressed.

Well, it's not Anna's fault no one trained her to walk up a narrow forty-degree riveted ice gangplank drenched with water and rolling with unsettled waves in the middle of the night.

_Maybe that's why he's so exhausted today_. Anna muses. Knowing Elroy, he was probably up worrying half the night, not trusting his own luck with the haphazard gangplank.

"Agreed." Jasper says, breaking Anna from her thoughts. One of the crew passes by with flask, heading to the small hubbub near prow of the ship. Anna raises an eyebrow.

"One of those nights, huh?" She asks, listening to the boisterous laughter of the off-duty crew members. Jasper shrugs.

"It was a rough day yesterday – they deserve something to cheer their spirits. Speaking of, would you like some?" He asks, turning to Anna in question as he points to the keg off to the side of the ship. Anna's nose wrinkles.

"Uhh, no." She says slowly, touching her stomach. "It just makes the rocking worse." She frowns and drops her arm.

"Yeah, you mentioned how you don't like open ocean." Jasper says, rubbing the back of his neck. Anna just shrugs.

"I never really liked it, honestly. I just liked it a lot less when my parents died." She says, stuffing her hands into the pockets of her loose trousers. She adopted wearing an off-white tunic, loose trousers and worn leather boots—her chest always bound so she's ready for battle—in favour of being dressed up. No point, really. "Admittedly the war made me like water even less," Anna admits, running a hand through her bangs; "but it was far from the cause."

The war is a tricky topic and Jasper knows it, so he chooses his words carefully. "Did you fight on the water?" To his surprise, Anna laughs. It's more bitter and ironic than it is humorous, but a laugh nonetheless.

"Hell no!" Anna says, grinning – the broken edge more prominent than usual. "I fought on land – Elsa was the one who fight in the fjord because she could get from A to B to C easily with her powers, but me?" She chuckles mirthlessly. "Let's just say seeing the ships crumble and be swallowed by the sea was bad enough from my vantage point on solid ground. Actually being there and feeling that fear when you know you're going down and knowing that the likelihood you'll get to shore before you drown or get shot down is slim to none . . . fuck, the anxiety alone would take me down." Anna sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose. Hard.

Jasper smiles compassionately. "Well," he says; "it's a good thing you'll never have to." Tension Anna wasn't aware she was holding ebbs away. She smiles thankfully. Jasper's eyes sparkle at the sign of good grace and he gestures to the captain's cabin. "Let's get to work then, shall we?"

Anna doesn't exactly know what else they have to cover, considering he hasn't received any updates since before he left Arendelle, but Anna complies anyway. It's been the same discussion for the last couple of days – running over every possible move Pryne might make and how to counteract it based on the two week old knowledge they have. Anna made use of the Pryne history book in her own captain's cabin and talked about what they'd done in the past in why but, in the end, the past is the past and there's no guarantee that they'll follow in kind.

Still, Anna manages to stay on Jasper's ship for two hours. Admittedly only the first half an hour was used for strategy talk and the other hour and a half Anna had played around with the crew. As much as Anna loves the Royal Grace, it can't really compare when it comes to human companionship. No matter how much more likeable the snow golem personalities are—Elsa would never make an obnoxious creature, it'd piss her off to much—there's no physical warmth to them.

Living on a ship where it and its crew hold no warmth and where her blankets only amplifies the heat her body already has is hard. She admits she doesn't like the crowded, smelly nature of Jasper's ship that much more, but it's an inviting change that she looks forward to.

It reminds her that she's still sane.

* * *

Elsa groans as she shifts on her tiny cot to lay on her side instead of her back.

Elsa is in her private, iced-off section of the ship. It'd be great if all the supplies that occupy the space with her didn't take up most of the space and leave her little room to move around. Admittably—other than the three steps by two steps available at the very 'entrance'—there's a narrow path that goes through the supplies so she can actually get to things without crawling over boxes to get to what she needs, but other than that there's nothing.

Immediately to the left of this 'entrance'—which is only considered such because it's the only spot with enough room _to_ enter—is a cot, very much in the same style as the one she and Anna slept in during the war, only a lot smaller. It doesn't help that the last third of its length is completely surrounded and towered by boxes and crates. Well, 'towered' might be stretching it, considering the ceiling is only a hand-width above Elsa's end when standing, but the things definitely touch the ceiling.

To the immediate right of the entryway is a semi-large chest—for the room size—that houses her clothes. Lined on the top of the chest are all five pairs of boots she brought with her. It's inconvenient when all she wants is to get at her wardrobe, but there's simply nowhere else to put them.

To the immediate front upon entering is—surprise—stacks of crates and boxes. Again, there's a narrow path down the center of it with a few side paths, but that's about it – like a really tiny trench.

Groaning in aggravation, Elsa shifts until she's laying on her back again. Even though she supplied herself with semi-cosy blankets, getting comfortable on something that doesn't give way to your weight in the slightest is a pain. Literally.

_I must have been too exhausted to give a shit last time I was on this stupid thing._ Elsa thinks, scowling. Then her heart leaps into her throat. The last time she was on one was during the war so of course she didn't give a shit – she was only trying to stay alive.

Hissing, Elsa pinches the bridge of her nose and tries to control her breathing. Tries to stop the images from flashing. Tries to stop the cannon's from firing and the people from screaming and the smoke from burning her lungs. She tries to stop the muscle memory from reliving how it felt for her ice swords to slam against armour, flesh and bone. But, most of all, she tries to stop seeing the faces.

She's sobbing. She's shaking. She's convulsing.

She knows she's having an anxiety attack and she knows that, without Anna to calm her down, that she's going to fall. Hard.

The liquid waves of paralyzing fear, anguish and torment crash against her chest in rapid and unending succession, numbing her limbs and making her helpless to stop the seething pain.

She's at war, she's always been at war – she always has to fight and kill and drown in the blood of the fallen. All she can do is maim and slew her enemies in the spikes of red ice, tinted by her twisted heart and inability to save the people she loves.

_Come out of it_. Elsa commands herself, tears smeared across her cheeks and teeth clenched in the most painful locked jaw she's ever experienced. _You're protecting Anna, you're protecting everybody. Just look at what you've_—

The cannons. The extra golems. Leaving Arendelle unprotected under fake pretence that she's still there.

_What are you doing if you're not giving yourself leave to murder?_ A dark voice—her voice—grinds in her ear. _You created a ship you and Anna have ever seen the inside of and claim it for a peace vessel when you know damn well that it can hold more than its own in a battle to the end. You're_ worse_ than what you were in the war – at least then you were fighting for something. Now you're searching and going out of your way to be in a conflict that you have absolutely no right to be in._ The voice leans in closer – Elsa swears she can feel the phantom breath on her ear. _You should have died in that war._ The voice growls. _At least then no one else would have to suffer by your hand._

Elsa spirals again, even deeper than before.

Twisted versions of the battles she's been in plays in her head, assaults her senses and takes over so fast the sudden over-stimulation nearly knocks her out cold. It drowns out logical thought and forces her to fully live every distorted moment to the fullest – her insides curling with enough revulsion that she'd puke if her body hadn't been completely paralyzed.

She doesn't know how long she's like this, but by the time she comes to—for the most part—her senses have been whipped so raw that even the act of blinking hurts.

"F-fuck." Elsa grits, her voice too high and vulnerable for her liking. She pushes herself up and weakly throws off her blanket as she swings her legs over the side of the cot. As if the sore muscles, aching back and being a snow golem wasn't enough, it had to be topped with this.

Wiping shakily at her eyes and cheeks, Elsa lets out a quivering breath. There's no way she can sleep now – if she tried she'd just be thrown into tormented PTSD dreams. She chuckles half-heartedly – she's going to be a _joy_ to be around tomorrow.

_Well, might as well change that._ She thinks with a sigh. Standing—still her loose tunic and trousers from the day—she forgoes putting on footwear, melts a doorway and leaves, refreezing it in her wake.

She's not thinking straight; she knows she not. She is consciously aware that she's been a moron and that she should stop _right now_ and turn back around, but she doesn't have the will to obey it. At least for this moment, she's done doing shit she doesn't want to do just because she has to.

By the time she reaches Anna's room she's regained enough sense to at least knock—thank the Gods—to make sure the girl isn't awake.

She isn't prepared for Anna's tired voice actually answering.

"What is it?" Comes the girl's muffled groan. She was probably about to fall asleep.

Elsa freezes. She can't damn well go in there now, can she? She can't just say nothing, either, but she can't say anything without the voice deepener she has in her golem form.

_Well, I_ am _already here, and I know I won't get any sleep without her_ . . . Elsa bites her lower lip in thought.

"Hello?" Anna says on the other side of the door, her voice notably more alert.

Sighing, Elsa waves her hand, creating the snow and ice of her golem around her. She lifts her feet when she puts snow and armour under them, and tops off the look with the snow cloud above her – the flurry noticeably getting heavier the hotter the weather gets, which she only figured out happened naturally when the other flurries started doing it.

She's ripped from her thoughts when Anna swings open the door, steel sword in hand and her tigers at the ready. Anna's eyes flash with surprise.

"Elroy?" She questions, frowning as she takes in Elsa's grim demeanour. "Are you okay?"

Elsa is silent for a beat, collecting her thoughts. Keeping her eyes carefully neutral—an effect her body language no doubt completely ruins—she looks Anna in the eye.

"Does Elsa suffer from post traumatic stress?" She asks, cautiously. Anna's frown deepens, her mind still clouded in sleep.

"I don't understand." She says. "What does that have to do anything?"

Elsa looks down at her armoured feet and shifts uneasily. Anna's eyes widen, realization hitting her. Her mouth drops and she nearly looses grip on her sword.

"I . . . oh Gods." Anna stumbles back into the room and shakily puts her sword back on the armour rack. Elsa stays rooted on the spot, suddenly wondering if she miscalculated how bad of an idea this actually is.

_Making her believe her personally designed golem guardian is flawed and can't protect her properly is definitely worse than I accounted for_. Elsa thinks, groaning internally. She half contemplates leaving, but now that she's here and she's already done the damage, she might as well just go through with it and get the comfort she came for.

Anna, seeing Elsa still standing in the doorway, gestures for her to enter.

"Come in." She says, forcing a fake, anxious laugh. Elsa hesitates a beat before nodding and stepping into the room, shutting the door behind her. Anna sits at the end of her bed, picking at the fabric of her blanket – it's a disconcerting nervous tick that Elsa has seen many times before.

"Sooo . . ." Anna says, wiping her hands on her light-weight sleeping trousers and picking at them instead. "You think you have PTSD?" She asks. Elsa shifts uncomfortably.

"I . . . I believe so. I have no experience in the matter but, sometimes, when I'm static for too long or there's a loud cacophony of sound I sort of . . ." Elsa gestures her hands unconsciously in front of her, trying to think of how an inexperienced person would describe the feeling and translating it to apply more to golems. Since she's never heard of a golem having PTSD before, so it's definitely a challenge to manifest the right words. "It's like I seize up."—She finally says—"And sometimes I get paralyzed – it's never for long periods of time, but I don't have any particular memories attached my body's reactions to justify them. So obviously I knew that it had to of come from Elsa, and the only thing I could think of that she could have that would cause these symptoms is post traumatic stress." She wrings her hands together nervously. "I think she may of given me a problem I am incapable of fixing."

For her part, Anna gives Elsa an even, calculating stare.

"Do you think you'll freeze up in a fight?" She finally asks.

"I haven't tested it." Elsa admits. Of course she knows that _she'd_ be able to handle herself when it comes to blows, but there's no way Elroy would. Anna hums thoughtfully.

"I'm going to have to test you tomorrow, then." She whispers, more to herself but obviously meant to be overheard. She looks up at the golem. "Tomorrow I want you to meet me in the training room during my regular training hours, okay?"

"Can it be on the deck?" Elsa asks. She'd rather not fight one-on-one in an enclosed space. Personal preference. Instead of admitting that, though, she says; "I really shouldn't be absent topside for too long, and I'm assuming you're going to keep me for the full three hours."Anna takes a moment to think before nodding, accepting Elsa's reasoning. Or maybe the girl just didn't care – who knows?

"Sure. Just grab some dud swords from the training room before meeting me, because you can only make things that are physically attached to you, correct?" She asks.

"That's correct." She confirms.

"Cool." Anna says, nodding her head. "Do that and I'll train with you for my entire session and see how you're holding out. You're still relatively new, so hopefully you haven't been afflicted by this enough to cause real harm." She frowns and roves her eyes strangely over the golem. "Because I don't know how to handle post traumatic stress without memories to support the fallout."

"Being with you helps." Elsa says, responding far too quickly to be normal. She amends with; "It must be something Elsa transferred to me, as well. At any rate, the random spurts of paralyses are significantly less or even non-existent when you're around." That makes Anna's frown deepen.

"I find it highly concerning that you have all her emotions and traits, good and bad, but you don't have the history or memories to support them. Especially PTSD – bouts of flashes and temporary limb failure is linked directly to events you were involved in. Having PTSD without any valid experience is . . . Gods, I don't even know how to comprehend that." Anna runs a hand through her hair, completely free of the twin braids.

"With any luck we won't have to." Elsa says, her voice gentle. Being around Anna and hearing her voice has done her wonders and by the look Anna gives her, it's obvious the girl notices the difference. Elsa smiles softly to reassure the girl that she's fine. Anna breathes out a bewildered huff.

"Guess you weren't kidding about the calming effect." Anna says, appraising Elsa with a faint smile. "You look loads better then when you first walked in." Elsa grins shyly and rubs the back of her neck.

"Thanks." Beat. Elsa shifts nervously – she's not ready to be alone just yet. "I-if it's not too much to ask, could I stay here for the night? I promise not to disturb you." Anna blinks in shock, then awkwardly gestures for Elsa to make herself at home.

"Sure." Anna says, astonishment lacing her words. "Take wherever just don't tower over me, okay?" Elsa smiles and nods, already knowing where she wants to be. Anna lifts her legs in surprise as Elsa kneels and curls up beside the bed – her back flush against the side of the bed. May and Lila—on guard beside the door—look faintly amused by the display.

Anna's eyes soften as she stares down at the golem, but she doesn't say anything. She curls back under her blankets and snuggles into her pillow.

"Goodnight." Anna says softly.

Elsa smiles, but doesn't bother responding.

* * *

When Anna wakes up the next morning it is with a strange sense of calm that she hasn't felt since the Royal Grace set sail. It's weird to wake up with a blissfully blank mind and not be troubled by the mild turbulence of the sea. Don't get her wrong – it's undoubtedly refreshing, just strange.

Then she hears ice whacking ice at a steady pace, right beside her bed.

Frowning, Anna rolls over and props herself up on an elbow and . . . blinks. May, away from her post at the door, is steadily pawing at Elroy's helm.

"May, what are you doing?" Anna asks, because, honestly, what is she doing? May looks up to her with an innocent expression, then _slams_ her paw down into Elroy's helm. Anna's mouth drops. "May!" She scolds, in the same moment Elroy grunts in surprise and stirs.

Elroy pushes up until he's sitting back on his hunches, looking around in an attempt to remember where he is. When recognition sparks in his eyes, he turns to Anna with a breathtaking smile.

"Good morning, Anna." Elroy says, a buoyancy in his tone that has definitely been absent in every previous interaction Anna has ever had with him. May, unnoticed, walks back to her station at the right of the door.

"Good morning." Anna says, smiling brightly in response. "Had a good night I take it?" Elroy nods ecstatically

"It was wonderful." Elroy says, grinning uncontrollably and pushing himself to his feet. "Now, I have to get us sailing and take care of a few things, so I'll leave you for now and meet up with you later." He nods respectfully, thankfully, then turns – heading for the door. He's halfway into the hallway when he pauses and turns back around. "Thank you." He says, before turning and walking out of sight.

Anna stares at the door in shock as May closes it.

"Well." Anna breathes, running a hand through her lion-mane bed hair. "That was certainly an odd start to the morning."

_But not entirely unwelcome._ Anna adds silently, a soft smile gracing her lips. She pushes off her blankets and stretches, ready to go about her day.

Without anyone to keep her schedule aligned, Anna is frankly surprised that she still has a symbolize of order to her days. If anything, her routines have gotten even stronger – she even gets up early now, for crying out loud. It's almost ironic how all the skills her teachers had tried to teach her only kicks into full gear when there's no one around to see it.

So, without missing a beat, Anna washes up, gets changed, eats breakfast, bushes her teeth and retreats into the captain's cabin. She reads, writes and makes notes until her lunch is brought to her at noon, where she relaxes for an hour before getting back to work. Two hours later is the only time Anna leaves the cabin, grabbing her training gloves off the side of the desk as she walks off and pushes through the door.

She grins when she sees Elroy standing in the middle of the deck, four dud ice swords in hand.

Striding up to the golem, Anna raises a playful eyebrow and pulls on her gloves.

"Seems like someone got impatient." She teases, smiling as she takes two swords from the golem and easily twirls them around her. Elroy shrugs and takes the proper hold on the remaining two swords and lets them hang by his side.

"You always train at this time – I just made sure everything was in place for when you came out." He says, watching Anna's effortless handle of her weapons. Anna smiles and rests her swords on her shoulders.

"Well – aren't you a proper gentlemen, then." She jibs, her smile spreading to a grin as she takes a few steps backwards and, with a flourish, drops into a fighting stance. "Ready to go?" Elroy nods falls into a stance similar to Anna's – one favouring dexterity over force. Anna barely stops herself from frowning.

_Golems are build for strength, not to be nimble. Sure they have agility like you couldn't believe, but they weigh too much for it to be their primary style._ Anna examines Elroy, trying to place his logic. _He's smaller than the other golems, but he's still packing at least three times my weight in snow and ice. This style may work for opponents bigger than him, but not smaller._

Anna sighs internally, mentally shaking her head. Elsa always gives golems the knowledge of how to fight with their build, so why—

Oh. Elsa.

_Well, that explains a few things._ Anna thinks. Seems Elsa screwed up a lot of things with her latest golem model._ Oh well_. Anna shrugs. _Gives me a chance to kick some sense into him._

* * *

Elsa learns very quickly that her skill and style, which would have been challenged without her heavy disguise, is absolutely useless. She had to spend the last two hours completely changing her style to a defensive style brute fighter – something she is almost completely unfamiliar with. The higher energy demand the style requires definitely tests her, and she can only pray her insane endurance can tide her over.

Elsa grunts as Anna hits her in the neck—thank the Heavens it's blocked by armour and snow—and she collapses to a knee.

Anna, humour and good fun mixing with complete seriousness on her features, takes a step back. Her eyes bore into Elsa, her eyes examining her and making Elsa think that the girl is seeing right through her.

"You're too defensive. You can never win if all you do is parry and attack half-heartedly." Anna says, her keen eye roving over Elsa's every subtle twitch and movement.

Elsa grunts and pushes back to her feet, nodding sharply. Without so much as a warning, Anna is on her. Elsa reels, parrying and redirecting as she makes a fighting retreat down the deck, but she's quickly running out of room.

_Damn it._ Elsa growls. _Fine, let's play it your way._

Elsa lurches forward. Anna's eyes widen. The girl tries to reel, but Elsa's icy fist collides with Anna's cheek, sending her spiraling. Elsa continues her push, her swords swirling in heavy arching motions. With her training, Anna recovers almost immediately and—without a trace of panic—dodges and parries in skilled fighting retreat that allows Elsa no further hits.

Elsa growls—tactfully ignoring the blood dripping down one half of Anna's face—and double slams her swords into one of Anna's. Anna gives a short cry as the sword is ripped from her hand. Before the girl can recover, Elsa shoves one of her swords—which both have a flat tip—into the middle of Anna's chest. The girl coughs and sputters, her legs wobbling as she stumbles back. Elsa raises her swords above her head for a final take down, but Anna swings her remaining sword as hard as she can into Elsa's head.

It lands will so much force the blade snaps in two.

Elsa's head whips to the side and she stumbles, her head spinning and ears ringing even with the layers of protection covering her. Before she can orient herself, Anna shoves her now pointed mini-sword between Elsa's armoured plates and punctures her side. Elsa howls in surprise and pain, dropping her swords. Anna's eyes widen in surprise, but Elsa grabs the girl's hand before she can pull the blade out and—no matter how much it hurts—swings her arm and punches Anna across the face, on the same side she hit the first time. Anna yowls and lurches back, holding her face and falling to a knee, shivering in pain.

Elsa's panicking.

She doesn't know what to do.

Should she act like a proper snow golem and pretend she's fine to help Anna or tend to her own wound?

Deciding to do what Elroy would do, she pulls out the broken blade—the end of it slick with blood—while Anna's still covering her face and throws it overboard. She uses her powers to freeze the wound sight and cover the spattered blood on her snow and ice, then makes her way to Anna.

Kneeling in front of the girl—the entire half of her face smeared and dripping with blood—Elsa shifts awkwardly and averts her eyes.

Blood. That is her weak point – has been since the war. It makes her insides cold and makes her shake with horrid memories. In war she could avoid it by freezing people instead of impaling them—which she especially started doing near the end of the conflict—and something she can easily walk away from in normal life, but not now.

Swallowing thickly, Elsa clears her throat – her eyes still averted. Anna's eyes, brimming with rage, snap to the golem – a furious scowl etching itself onto her lips.

"What the hell was that?" Anna growls, her chest heaving.

"Using your weaknesses against you." Elsa replies, her chest twisting and heart wrenching as she forces the words past her throat. The look in Anna's eyes darken, but the logic of Elsa's words seem to stop her from exploding.

"Good tactic." Anna grinds, pulling off a glove and trying to wipe some of the blood from her face. Elsa raises her head to a golem near the stairs leading below deck and projects her voice.

"Get a towel."

Almost immediately Elsa has to suppress a sputter of pain as the higher vibration level presses painfully on her wound. Regrettably, Anna notices.

"Feel bad, huh?" The girl can't quite keep the bite out of her voice. Elsa could almost sigh in relief at Anna's wrong interpretation and nods. Anna sneers and looks away. "Good." She spits. Elsa's heart constricts in pain.

When she sees the other golem returning with a towel, Elsa gets up—with more than her far share of difficulty—and starts to head below deck when:

"Elroy, get up here."

Elsa frowns and looks up to Moira, a bird perched on her shoulder and a rolled piece of parchment in her hand. Elsa instantly changes direction and walks up the steps to the bridge, takes the note and opens it, scanning it quickly. Finishing, Elsa pauses and reads it again.

"This isn't good." Elsa mutters, turning to the deck. "All hands on deck!" She shouts, her side throbbing painfully in response, making her flinch. She turns back to Moira. "We're going to speed up and line ourselves parallel with Jasper. Once we are, slow down to match their speed, okay?" Moira frowns.

"Okay. What's going on?" She asks. Elsa gives her a grim look.

"Nothing goo—ah!" She says, a sudden pulse of pain breaking her response. Moira's eyes flash in alarm. The golem glances to Anna—now frowning and making her way to the bridge—and turns back to Elsa, lowering her voice.

"How bad?"

"Bad but treatable."

"Go to the medic."

"Not with Anna—" Elsa hisses, barely stopping herself from keeling. Moira gives Elsa a stifling look.

"Just forget about Anna for one goddamn minute and—"

The aforementioned woman, just coming up beside Elsa, frowns. "Uhh, why?" Anna asks. Elsa snaps straight—with immense complaint from her side—and turns to Anna. She hands the girl the parchment. Anna frowns and takes it, asking; "What is it?" Even as she opens it and starts reading. She frowns. "This is addressed to Jasper."

"At the bottom is a note from Jasper to us – he redirected the massager bird so we would understand the situation and obey his plea to pull our ship even with his." Elsa says, falling into silence as she sees Anna's face going paler and paler the more she reads. Just like Elsa did, Anna reads the note again. Moira frowns at the display.

"This . . ." Anna chokes, carefully rolling the parchment back up. "This is bad." Elsa hums in agreement.

"That's probably the worst understatement of the year." Elsa says. Anna frowns at the familiar phrase—last spoken in equally dark times—and gives Elsa a look. For her part, Elsa appears to be none the wiser. Anna's frown deepens and she turns to Moira.

"What's our current docking estimation?" She asks.

"After today we have three more days travel." Moira says, tilting her head to the side in confusion, only knowing half of the story.

"How much faster is our ship compared to Jasper's?" Anna asks. Moira frowns.

"Their speed times one point five."

"Can we sail during the night?"

"Not without leaving Jasper's ship behind."

"But can we?"

"Of course."

"Wait."—Elsa finally interrupts—"Are you suggesting going on ahead? Without Jasper there's no way—"

"We wouldn't be leaving without him." Anna says, cutting Elsa off. "We're going to pick him up when we go parallel then boot it to Iloa as fast as we can." Elsa hisses and rubs her icy temples. Anna glares at her. "Is that a problem, _captain?_"

"No, your highness. Just a pain." Elsa says, sighing. The formal address doesn't go unnoticed, but Elsa doesn't give anyone the time to rebuttal before turning heel and heading for the deck. "All three-hundred fifty-eight non-essential personal, please make your way to the cannon room or storage." She ignores the pain in her side as she turns and heads below deck – she has golems to hide, a wound to be treated and an angry Anna to stay away from.

* * *

Anna blinks in surprise at Elroy's commands—almost forgetting about the elements of the ship better left unknown—and turns to Moira who, despite her normally laid back domineer, looks grave. Anna frowns.

"What's wrong?" She asks. Moira gives her a side glance before looking ahead again, focusing on the ocean ahead.

"Everything." Moira says. Anna opens her mouth to question, but Moira gives her a stern look telling Anna to leave it alone. Anna's frown deepens, but she obeys. Sighing, Anna turns to leave the bridge.

"I'm going to go see the medic." She says. Unbeknownst to her, Moira's eyes flash with alarm behind her, but it doesn't filter into her tone when she says:

"You should also think about what Jasper's accommodations are going to be."

Anna freezes. She hadn't thought of that. She looks over the prow of the ship to see their distance from Jasper's ship and hums. "I have time to get my wounds treated first." Moira wince goes unseen as Anna leaves the bridge and heads below deck.

Everything is _crazy_.

Anna has to duck and dodge as golems of all shapes and sizes rush this way and that, making a cacophony of oddly organized sound as they rearrange themselves and the ship to be fitting for visiters.

And the medical bay—off in a far corner of the ship that Elroy conveniently forgot to mention during the tour—didn't seem to be an exception.

_Odd._ Anna thinks, frowning at the only two medical golems rushing around and grabbing supplies. _There's nothing in here that would arouse suspicion, is there?_

Anna clears her throat and the golems stop in their actions instantly, turning to the princess with a keen attention.

"Princess." The skinnier one says—Anna swears it's almost a panicked squeak—while the taller one simply motions to a table, though even that action seems rushed. When Anna walks over to table and sits down, the skinner golem immediately cleans the blood off her face.

"What happened?" The taller one asks, putting salve over the scratches, cuts and bruises as the other moves to wash the bloody cloths. Anna suppresses a sneer.

"Elroy." Anna says, a sting to her tone.

"Where you fighting him?" The skinner one asks, coming back with gauze and cotton bandages.

"In a mock battle." Anna chides. "He used a underhanded tactic to win in a fight that wasn't even real and, _Gods_, it's _enraging_."

"Are you angry because he used it or are you angry because a golem used it?" The taller one asks, carefully placing a cotton bandage on the worst of the wounds—beside her left eye and partially running into her temple—and wrapping it with gauze. Anna is about to ask; 'what's the difference?' when she clenches her jaw shut. She knows exactly what the medic is saying.

Which pisses her off even more.

It's true – Anna is angry because she thought snow golems were above cheap tricks, but, for the most part, it has always held true.

_Elroy's just an acceptation to all the damn rules, isn't he?_ Anna growls in her head, deciding to answer the medic with silence instead of snapping a rude comment.

In the beginning Elroy's similar personality was something of a comfort to Anna, but as time dragged on, it became more of a painfully sore reminder of what she doesn't have. Although talking to Elroy isn't a bitter point of her days—in fact she normally enjoys her time with him—it's just bitter when all she wants to do is talk to Elsa knowing all she has is a poor substitute. It's nothing against Elroy, because he really isn't a bad guy—though he apparently takes cheap blows—he's just . . . not Elsa. That's not even his fault, either – Elsa made him, he didn't exactly have a choice in the matter.

_And now he's suffering for her problems._ Anna sighs, rubbing her brow gently. The taller golem takes a step back.

"I've covered the worst of the wounds, but the others are better to have open air. Come back down later tonight before you go to bed and I'll take it off and check on it. By that point it should only need a bandage for the night and then it'll be good to heal in the open. You're going to have some awful bruises for a couple of days, though." The golem says, shrugging and rubbing the back of their neck awkwardly. Anna just shrugs and jumps off the table.

"Alright. I'll see you tonight." She says, bee-lining for the door – her brain already in overdrive for possible spaces that could be converted into living quarters.

* * *

Stretching silence.

Sweat covers Elsa's forehead as she tries to keep herself from making a sound. She's desperately clutching at her side, keeping a constant flow of cold spreading through the wound.

_For fuck's sake, Anna – this is not the time to take your goddamn time_. Elsa grits her teeth, hiding silently in a little section in the back of the medical ward. She'd barely been there a minute—the medics running around to grab the supplies needed to help her—when Anna had strolled in to get her face looked at. Now, while Elsa has no doubt that she gave the girl shiners and scrapes and possibly a future scar, the woman also just stabbed Elsa in the side ribs. So while Elsa holds sympathy for the girl, she also can't bring herself to care all that much.

She knows by Anna's conversation with the medics—that she was eavesdropping into—that the girl is more than pissed about that last blow, but what was Elsa suppose to do – let Anna see the blood on her sword? Sure she punched Anna one time more than she intended to and in circumstances that were less than favourable, but Anna had just _stabbed_ her. She wasn't exactly thinking straight.

It seems like an eternity until the two golems make their way back to Elsa, needed supplies in hand. The shorter one puts down their supplies first and gently coaxes Elsa's hands away from her wound. He hums thoughtfully, turning around to start preparing a salve.

"She certainly did a number on you, didn't she?" He asks, crushing a couple of herbs in a bowl. The taller golem chuckles as she, too, examines the wound.

"I'd say she made quite the impression."

Elsa laughs at the poor humour, but immediately chokes as pain rockets through her. She puts her hands back over her wound with a wince, gently cooling the area down with frost and ice.

The taller golem frowns and goes to the gauze and bandages they placed on the other counter. "You're going to have to take your shirt off and sit up."

Elsa nods and, with a pained hiss, pushes into sitting—her legs dangling over the side of the table—and gently pulls her tunic up and over her head, setting it beside her. The wraps binding her chest suffer from the rip from the puncture and are almost completely soaked with blood around the wound. The skinner golem hums in approval.

"You're lucky, with your powers slowing blood flow in the area and the pressure of these bandages, I think you made a bad situation very fortunate." He says, finishing the salve and setting it on the table Elsa sits on. "But we're going to have to remov—"

Before he can finish, Elsa waves her hand and slices up the middle of the wraps and pulls it off, throwing it away.

"They're ruined anyway." Elsa grunts, lifting her arm on her injured side to give the male golem access to the wound. To take her mind off the salve about to be rubbed on the tissue, Elsa turns to the other golem. "How am I going to take care of this without Anna suspecting anything?" The taller golem shrugs.

"Refuse any more bouts with her and avoid as much physical labor as you can. You mostly just walk around making sure everything's running smoothly anyway, so Anna shouldn't notice a difference. Now, night time may be a little tricky – you have to make sure you never lay or lean on your left side. If you can manage that, make sure you see us every morning and every night so we can change your wrappings." She says, preparing to put the bandage on Elsa's wound.

"What about in Iloa? With Anna's new sailing orders we'll be there a day and a half ahead of schedule and this thing would have just started to heal over." Elsa says, gritting her teeth as the numbness starts wearing off, the female medic only halfway through wrapping around the gauze.

"Again, stray away from physical labor. May and Lila are more than capable of taking care of Anna – they don't need you there to help them. Hell, it's uncertain as to whether the snow golems will be allowed on shore anyway. With any luck you'll have to stay on the ship for the entirety of our stay."

"That defeats the purpose of me being here." Elsa grumbles, wrapping the cotton bandaging and gauze in ice as she binds her chest with it. She sighs in relief with the extra pressure and the chill it applies in her wound.

"If I may,"—the shorter golem starts—"why is our schedule speeding up?" Elsa's jaw clenches and she grabs her tunic as she pushes off the table.

"Pryne's military is mobilizing. We only have three days to get there or hell is going to break loose." Elsa says, pulling on her tunic and transforming into Elroy before exiting the private room and leaving the medical ward.


	5. Barricade Your Door

**A/N:** Random note: Anna is 21 and Elsa is 24.

_An actual important note_: A fleet admiral (navy rank) is a rank equivalent to a general (army rank) - both are the highest rank of their respective disciplines; and a commodore is the equivalent of a brigadier general - the fourth highest rank of their respective disciplines.

* * *

Anna stands by the railing as the Royal Grace pulls parallel to Jasper's ship. When the speed of both ships become equal, Anna waves for the standby golems holding the gangplank.

"Go, go – go!" Anna shouts, watching as the golems rush forward and skillfully lay it across the ships and latch it to the ice railing. Anna's on it instantly – bolting to the other ship, but stops at the end of the gangplank and waves Jasper closer. Jasper frowns and steps forward, looking like he wants to comment on the wounds on Anna's face, but she beats him to words. "My ship moves faster than yours – come over to the Royal Grace and I'll get you to Iloa in half the time." Anna shouts over the wind, thankfully working for them and not against.

"What?" Jasper asks, shocked. "I can't just leave my ship!"

"If you don't want Iloa to be bathed in blood then you're going to have to suck it up." Anna growls. "Your ship doesn't need you – Iloa does. Just put your second in command in charge and get your ass over to my ship; I'll give you ten minutes to grab your shit before I order this gangplank be lifted and I sail off without you." With that, Anna turns heel and runs back to the Royal Grace, noticing Elroy exiting the stairs heading below deck and then climbing the stairs to the bridge.

Jumping back onto the Royal Grace, Anna points to the closest snow golem. "You –get to the other side of that gangplank and help Jasper carry his belongs _and_ him over here. We can't risk him slipping on the ice and falling into the water." The golem nods and gets on the gangplank, rushing to the other side. Anna turns heel and jogs to the bridge. At the bottom of the stairs Anna stops and looks up to Elroy, shouting; "Is everything taken care of below deck?"

"Aye, your highness – the room is sealed, all extra personnel are out of sight and a portion of storage has been converted into a temporary living compartment." Elroy says, now completely reverted back to his stoic formal appearance and speech. Anna still hasn't forgiven him enough to tell him to knock it off because her face is swollen, bruised and throbbing – their faithful bout ending not an hour and a half prior.

"Good." Anna says, nodding sharply. "When he comes over, order up the gangplank and send Jasper directly to my cabin. Make sure the golems bring his things to his temporary living space and that we kick it the hell out of here as soon as that plank's lifted." Elroy nods.

"As you command, your highness."

Anna barely waits for Elroy to finish before walking the few steps to her cabin and shutting herself inside.

* * *

Elsa watches Anna retreat and lets out a controlled breath. Moira gives her a side glance.

"How's the wound?" She asks.

"Better than my relationship with Anna." Elsa drawls. Moira suppresses a grin.

"It's not as bad as it seems." Moira says, clearing her throat it rid it of humour. "The injured side of her face is just making her grumpy and she's taking it out on you because it's your fault."

"How helpful." Elsa deadpans, scanning the deck of Jasper's ship. The crew are in a frenzy, barely keeping from running into each other in their rush. "Once we're clear of Jasper's ship, I'm going to relay the order to get our oars pumping." Moira frowns.

"We don't have oars." She says.

"We do now." Elsa replies, cutting the helmsmen off. "There's no point having most of the crew locked in the cannon room with nothing to do, so I gave them the means to get us to Iloa faster." Moira's eyes flash with shock.

"Have you gone mad? Anna's _seen_ the cannon room, she knows there were no oars – and there's no way something that long could have been moved from another location in the ship. You can't do this without raising questions better left unasked." Moira says, her voice low and full of warning. Elsa shrugs.

"Not necessarily. Things are hidden in plain sight everywhere on this ship, and I know from asking around that Anna does her best to avoid the cannon room whenever she's below deck – barely even spares it a glance when she passes it. Trust me, I've already gone through all the possibilities in my head, and I've determined that it's worth the risk." Moira opens her mouth to argue, but Elsa cuts her off with; "The longer it takes us to get to Iloa, the more risk we run of it being too late to reverse the process Pryne has set in motion. So me running the risk of Anna asking questions—that'll lead nowhere, I might add—is much less important than the potential threat of all of us being plunged into war. We may just be non-combatants, but trust me when I say that that position is the worst of all."

Moira stares at the torment that flashes through Elsa's eyes and nods softly.

"Okay." She relents. Elsa gives her a grateful smile.

Hearing a sudden ruckus, Elsa glances to the other ship to see Jasper gasping as he brings the last of his belongings that he's bringing with him out of the captain's cabin. The snow golem takes it and throws it over his shoulder. Elsa almost—almost—laughs at how funny the golem looks with Jasper's belongings hanging all over him, but thankfully suppresses the urge. When the two walk to the gangplank and the golem picks Jasper up and starts his way across, Elsa moves to meet them.

"Raise the gangplank!" Elsa bellows as she approaches Jasper, just being set down on the deck of the Royal Grace. When it's detached and raised—not even waiting for it to be put back in place—she shouts; "Full speed ahead!" The shouting does nothing to soothe her aching wound, but luckily it's numb enough that it doesn't hurt as bad as it did over an hour ago. Stopping in front of Jasper, Elsa bows her head politely. "General Jasper – I'm Captain Elroy. Princess Anna has requested your presence in the captain's cabin immediately. Your supplies will be brought to your temporary living quarters and someone will show you the way once Anna and you are finished with your business." Elsa turns and gestures to the door beside the stairs going below deck. "If you would."

* * *

Anna's desk is a disaster zone.

She has open books scattered half over top of each other along the edges of the desk, pages of notes strewn all around and a quill and ink that are somewhere among the mess. Anna goes and grabs a couple sheets of blank parchment from the shelf and comes back to her desk, pushing other things aside to have an opening to throw the paper. She's just about to grab a new quill and ink—unable to find where the ones on her desk are—when there's a knock on her door.

"Come in." She calls, grabbing a quill and ink from the shelf and bringing them back to her desk. She pauses long enough to see who the person entering is before getting back to what she's doing. "Hello Jasper." She says, opening the ink, dipping in the quill and writing, 'Situation with Pryne' in elegant cursive along the top of the first sheet of parchment. She drops the quill back in the ink and sits in her chair, finally giving Jasper her full attention. She goes to motion for Jasper to sit, when she realizes that there's no other chair in the room. "Well then." She says, standing and walking to the door – completely missing Jasper's awed expression as he looks around the room.

Anna exits the room just enough to pop her head out, pick a golem and shout; "I need a chair in my office." She goes to turn back in when she pauses and turns back. "Get some fabric to put over it, too." She says as an afterthought before shutting the door and walking to her desk, giving Jasper an apologetic smile as she passes. "I'm sorry – the needs of the Royal Grace has been based solely on me, so I'm a little underprepared for your arrival." Before she sits, she finally notices the amazed appraising look Jasper is giving the room. She smiles. "Nice, isn't it?"

"Nice? This is spectacular." Jasper says, grinning from ear to ear. "I saw the beauty in ice, certainly, but I only saw the complications of walking on it and not freezing to death, but this is masterful."

"You also don't have to worry about slipping in here." Anna teases, grinning as he looks down to take in the elaborately designed carpet. Jasper's grin widens.

"That's always a plus." He says, looking around some more. "I don't see a bed, though – do you sleep on the floor, or something?" The bizarre question almost makes Anna laugh, until she realizes that this is probably the only vessel on the sea that the captain's cabin doesn't double as an office and living space. Anna smiles.

"No, I don't. This ship was built for the need of one, remember – why would the office be the same as my living quarters if they didn't have to be?" Anna asks, repeating Elsa's phrase with laughter in her voice. A thought strikes her. "Oh, but that also brings complications. The main one is that there's only one room, so I kinda had to situate you in the storage area. There wasn't a lot of extra blankets, so it might get a little cold for you. It's not my version of cold, but you're used to a wooden ship that amplifies the already blistering temperatures, so if you get a chill that you can't get rid of, grab your blankets and situate yourself in this room immediately. This room—just like my quarters—has been made to keep heat in and, as such, will stop you from getting hypothermia. Okay?" Jasper rubs the back of his neck.

"Aaand there's the downfall of an ice ship." He says. Anna smiles.

"It's not that bad once you get used to it. In fact once you do, it makes the ever increasing temperatures that much easier to bear. Seriously, is it always this warm here?" Anna asks. Even though she hasn't experienced the full force of the heat yet—considering she only ever left the Royal Grace at night time—she can already tell that it's scorching. Jasper grins.

"It's been worse." He says, a playful spark lighting his eyes. "I don't know how you'll survive once you reach Iloa if you can't stand the temperatures even when being cooled down, because you'll be expected to sleep in the castle." Sensing the challenge, Anna grins wolfishly and points to the tigers seated on either side of the door.

"I have those two to huddle around me."

Jasper turns and examines the pair before raising an eyebrow. "Well, that's one way to do it." He says. Anna laughs. She's about to respond when there's a knock at the door.

"Come on." Anna calls. A snow golem with three heavy crates, a blanket thrown over his shoulder, enters the room. He turns sideways to see Anna, unable to see over the crates.

"This is the best I could come up with for a chair, your highness. Is it okay?" He asks. Anna scratches the side of her neck, sending Jasper another apologetic look.

"It'll do, I suppose." She says, motioning for the golem to set the crates down. He obeys and sets all three in front of the desk before taking the top two and placing them behind the first, then neatly draping the blanket over top of it. Anna nods politely when he's done. "Thank you." Anna says, dismissing him. When he's gone, she gestures to it awkwardly. "Have a seat." She says. Jasper smiles.

"I'm fine for now, thanks – I have a couple of questions I'd like to ask you first." He says, suddenly all business. Anna matches the state of being perfectly.

"Go ahead." Anna says, sitting down and staring at Jasper expectantly.

"Why did you take me from my ship without warning?" Jasper asks, getting right to the point. "It got the crew in a panic and I barely had time to explain things to my second before I was literally hauled away. It was—"

"Out of line and embarrassing?" Anna wagers a guess, cutting Jasper off. Jasper's jaw tightens and he nods. Anna leans back in her chair. "You're ship is slow and we didn't have the time to lollygag about – deciding what to do when the answer is obvious. I need you to be with me when I arrive or else we'll be seen as appearing at random and without reason. So I needed to arrive with you but you're ship is much too slow to keep par with mine, meaning the only solution is for you to be on my ship. If I had needed anyone else from your ship I would have taken them, but I didn't – and I didn't have the time to explain because Pryne will not wait for it. In order to cut down on wasted time better spent travelling, I was curt and harsh. Don't get me wrong – if you really didn't want to come to the Royal Grace I wouldn't have forced you, but I think we both know the consequences of that if that were the case."

Jasper stares at Anna, an unreadable expression on his face as he processes Anna's logic and scans her eyes. A long, awkward beat later, he nods his head. "Okay." He accepts. He motions vaguely to the left side of his face before gesturing to Anna's left. "So, what happened there?" He asks. Right on cue, the swollen mess of bruises, cuts and scrapes throbs painfully. Anna sighs.

"Training gone wrong." She says. "I always train for three hours before supper—"—her stomach growls—"—that I have apparently not eaten yet, and I got smacked a few times. Have you eaten yet?" Jasper gives her a strange look at the sudden trajectory change.

"I was about to before you ordered me over here." He says. There's no blaming in his tone – just fact. Anna nods.

"Okay. I'll order two meals be brought up—" she pauses, feeling a sudden, even and rhythmic pull within the ship. "Do you feel that?" She asks. Jasper tilts his head curiously and pauses, feeling for whatever Anna is referring to. His eyes widen in surprise.

"Your ship has oars?" He asks, missing the shock that flashes in Anna's eyes as he laughs disbelievingly. "No wonder you took me on your ship – at this rate we'll get to Iloa in two days."

"Tomorrow afternoon." Anna corrects absently, her eyes narrowing in thought. At Jasper's look she explains; "We're going to be sailing through the night." She bites her bottom lip, sifting through her memories. Standing suddenly, Anna smiles and walks for the door. "I'm going to send word to the cook and speak with the helmsmen to make sure we're on schedule." She glances to Lila and motions for her to stay in the room. The tiger nods just enough for Anna to notice. Anna leaves with only May in tow.

With the door shut behind her, Anna immediately runs to the railing and looks overboard.

From slots she knows are meant for the cannons, oars now row in unison.

Turning heel—stopping briefly to get a golem to send an order down to the cook—she jogs up the steps to the bridge and stops in front of Elroy, hands balled into fists at her sides. Elroy breaks from his conversation from Moira and turns to the princess, head tilting in confusion.

"What is it, your highness?"

"Oars." Anna says, practically spitting the words. Elroy's face grows more confused. Anna growls in frustration and says, slowly; "Why didn't you tell me we had them?" An 'ooh' expression appears on Elroy's features.

"They were a precautionary measure encase we were cursed with backwards wind or no wind at all." Elroy says, cautious with Anna's obvious disgruntle. "By following Jasper, it also seemed pointless to mention them as their use would have been nil – what would be the point in speeding up if only to pass the people we need to follow?" Elroy asks. Anna sighs and glances over the stern of the ship, seeing Jasper's vessel slowly falling further and further behind them.

"Can anyone look inside the holes and see the cannons?" She asks, turning back to Elroy. He shakes his head.

"There's measures in place for that, too, your highness. The—"

"Gods, stop calling me that!" Anna spits, rubbing her temples. "I may be angry with you but that doesn't give you the right to become formal. Do you have _any_ idea how annoying formal speech is? Hm?" She asks. She thinks she sees a hint of amusement flash in his eyes, but it's gone too quickly for her to know for sure.

"I think I'm starting to." He says, blessedly leaving out the formal address. "Anyway, the golems are rowing in front of the cannons, so if you look in all you'll be able to see is them. However, it won't be good to tempt fate when other ships are around – not only does it show that there are at least seventy golems on board, but someone might accidently see a cannon or believe there might be just because the cannon gates blend in completely when closed. When we near Iloa, or see ships in the distance, the oars will be pulled in before they notice we have them." Anna frowns.

"What about at night time?" She asks. "Will you have enough warning to do it then?"

"We have far better night vision than humans." Moira says. "We don't need lights on the deck at night to sustain us while other ships do. Trust me – we have it covered." Anna hums in thought.

"Well,"—she finally says—"I guess that explains why most of the guards in Arendelle at night were snow creatures." Moira laughs.

"That, and most humans grow tired at night and can't focus properly." Moira jibs, grinning. Anna raises an amused eyebrow.

"What was your job before being assigned to the Royal Grace?" She asks. Moira shrugs.

"City patrols and test driving new ice ships to ensure they're safe for humans."

"Is that why you're my helmsmen?"

"Beats the shit out of me." Moira says, never taking her eyes from the sea. Anna barks a laugh.

"Right." Anna says, mirth sparkling in her eyes. "Well, I guess I should get back to Jasper, then."

"Of course, princess." Moira says. Anna gives her a look, but Moira just smirks. Rolling her eyes—deciding not to correct the golem's address—she leaves the bridge.

* * *

Empty plates are on the back of Jasper's crate chair, and him and Anna are standing, curled over Anna'a desk moving rolled up pieced of ripped up parchment—full of discarded notes—around on the map in front of them. This is probably one of the lowest-class make-shift ship and troop location pieces Jasper's ever had, but he has to admit it's highly amusing.

After eating the two had discussed how many troops and battleships Pryne would be sending and in what formation, and then proceeded to map it out on the map Jasper had brought with him, because Anna didn't have one. Jasper thinks it's odd that she doesn't, considering her purpose in the region and the importance of knowing the geography, but Anna had just shrugged and said; 'I know the geography – I didn't need as damn map.' That statement alone confirmed in Jasper's mind that Anna is _thee_ most unconventional commanders he has ever met, but he'd be damned if he claimed it reflected her intelligence.

Based on the peace treaties two years ago, wherein Elsa was the one who ultimately came up with them, all Jasper could say about Anna was that she knew what she was doing, and that she had a temper. Over the pasted days of the journey he can safely say can look at a problem in all directions, but he has never been shown the scope of just how powerful Anna's brain is. All he has ever seen is snippets of the mind behind Anna's disarming smile and buoyant laughter, but even from that he knows it's far higher than he could have ever imagined.

He just hopes he imagined high enough.

Pryne is an enemy that exploits weakness without mercy and refuses to listen to those they deem weak or incapable. Somehow Anna is going to have to prove herself a worthy negotiator without ever raising a fist—therefore adhering to her role—or else everything is going to crumble to dust.

It scary knowing the fate of Iloa rests on the actions of a young twenty-one year old princess but, in a way, he knows he wouldn't place his faith on anyone else. Well, besides Elsa, that is.

He admits to himself that he would have preferred Elsa, but that's only because he's witnessed her genius working in front of him under extreme situations. Anna, on the other hand . . . he's never seen her do that. Sure he's heard of her prowess both in battle and in matters of state, but standing alone in a game of wits in a situation quickly dissolving into chaos? No. That he has not seen.

It may be unfair to judge the girl before she has the chance to prove herself, but right now he can only pray that she's as good or better than Elsa when the time comes. If she's not, Iloa will be plunged into war.

"With our current pace we'll get there before the sun sets tomorrow and be a day and a half ahead of Pryne's forces." Anna says, breaking him from his thoughts. "With that bird you've sent on ahead, hopefully your king will send a request to the leader of Pryne's assault to come to the castle and they'll accept so I can kick enough sense into their head to get Pryne to formally agree to a temporary cease-fire."

"We'd need shots or blows exchanged, otherwise they've legally done nothing wrong." Jasper says, frowning. Anna shrugs.

"Technically they have, they're just hiding behind politics. Since they are, though – make sure at least one of us has a rock; just a little one that can fit in the palm of your hand." Anna says, drawing a circle on her palm with a finger to show the size. Jasper's frown deepens.

"I . . . don't quite follow." Jasper says, slowly.

"Politics can often be overruled by silly acts of symbolism." She responds, shrugging.

"Uh huh." Jasper breathes, rubbing his jaw as he stares absentmindedly at the map. "I'm assuming you're not going to elaborate on that, are you?" Anna shrugs again.

"Don't see why I would." She says, a teasing note in her tone that makes Jasper twitch a smile.

"One of those things that it's better for no one to know, huh?" He jokes. Anna grins but, to his surprise, he can see a grave seriousness laced with the humour in her eyes.

"Yeah, one of those things." She affirms, looking back down to the map. Jasper frowns. How the hell could a puny little rock be 'one of those things'?

_Then again Arendelle was a puny little thing and they totally kicked your ass._ Jasper thinks, then pauses. _Or, knowing Anna, she's thinking about something completely different and her tone is reflecting that and not what she's actually saying._

Anna has a habit of doing that, Jasper finds – where Anna grows serious far sooner than the words of the conversation should reasonably allow, before changing the topic to what's got her bothered. He desperately hopes she has a better poker face than that, but she isn't exactly known for keeping her thoughts and feelings safely hidden.

For everyone's sake, he hopes her handlings of matters of grave importance is better than her apparent lack of self restraint.

Little does Jasper know, Anna has a better game face than he gives her credit for. Sure he has the right to be worried—considering Anna doesn't care enough to show him her skills—but, when the time comes, her abilities are going to knock him off his feet.

* * *

Elsa groans at she sits down on her cot, gently pulling off her tunic—still bloody from the events of the day—and examines the fresh bandaging the medics put on just minutes before. Letting out a slow breath, Elsa holds her side and unlaces her boots with one hand before pushing them off with her feet. Not bothering to take off her trousers, Elsa carefully lies down and lets out a relieved breath – finally able to relax.

Without outer stimuli, however, the full extent of her wound's anguish hits her head on.

With even breaths, Elsa closes her eyes and forces her body to relax. She waves her free hand and dispels the ice binding her chest, instantly gritting her teeth when her side throbs in response.

"Ooh, Gods." Elsa breathes, forcing out a controlled breath. "Wounds don't hurt any less no matter how many you get, huh?" Elsa whispers, gritting her teeth.

There's a knock.

Elsa frowns. Only the crew knows where she sleeps. She puts a cluster of thins holes in the ice—barely enough to notice—and says; "Who is it?"

"Moira sent me." The voice says. "She told me to tell you that Anna's looking for you." Elsa frowns.

"Isn't she in bed?" Elsa asks, not wanting to get up so soon.

"No, your grace – she's wandering the ship with Jasper, giving him a tour." The golem responds. Elsa's frown deepens.

"What could she possibly need me for, then?" Elsa asks. "After she's done with Jasper they'll both be going to sleep."

"I don't know, your grace." They say – Elsa can practically hear the shrug in their voice. "I haven't been told the specific reason as to why she called you." Elsa groans and rubs her face with her free hand – her right still lightly holding her wound.

"Go back to Moira and ask her for specifics and follow her instructions whether she knows Anna's reasoning's or not. Be sure to let her know that I will _not_ be getting up on a random whim of Anna's. Only come back and knock upon the event that Anna actually needs me." Elsa orders, her exhaustion doubling at the mere thought of getting up before she has to.

"Very well, your grace." The voice says. When Elsa hears them walking away, she seals the holes and sighs, rubbing her eyes gently. With any luck, this was just Anna absently wondering where the captain disappeared to.

_Hopefully she still disagrees with my actions to not care where I am, or at least believes I regret them enough to be avoiding her_. Elsa thinks, using her feet to hook the blankets—that had been left pushed into a lump at the bottom half of the bed—and pulls it up to her free hand, where she adjusts the blanket at her waist. Giving a content sigh, Elsa closes her eyes.

* * *

Knocking. Heavy, heavy knocking.

Elsa wakes with a start, her eyes flying around the room as adrenaline pumps through her veins. She creates holes in the wall and, trying to keep her voice calm, demands; "What is it? What's going on?"

"You're late." A rushed golem responds. "You were suppose to be up an hour ago – Anna and Jasper are already up eating breakfast."

"Fuck!" Elsa grits, pushing up cautiously and pulling on the pair of boots she wore yesterday. "Has she noticed my absence yet?"

"No, your grace – but if you don't get out here soon she's going to."

"Gods damn it all." Elsa spits, finishing tying up her laces and standing. "Do I have time to get my bandages replaced?" She glances to her tunic on the floor—with a hole in the side and the fabric around it practically drenched in dried and cracked blood—then to her wooden chest, covered in four pairs of boots.

"If you do, you're going to have to get there now, your grace."

Growling, Elsa bounds her chest in ice and gives herself an ice tunic. Transforming into Elroy—having to hunch with the low head-space of her room—Elsa melts an entryway and exits, freezing over the entrance behind her.

"Thank you." Elsa says, nodding to the taller golem before rushing off to the medical bay. Her side kicks and screams in protest at all the sudden motion, but Elsa pays it no heed. She jogs all the way to the medical ward and into the private room in the back. She disperses her disguise, tunic and binding as the two medical golems grab the things they need, quickly retreating into the back with Elsa. They clean the wound again, put salve on it, and put on new wrappings.

"You're late today." The skinner one remarks, helping the taller one clip the gauze in place. Elsa grunts in response and jumps off the table, quickly binding her chest and reforming her tunic.

"I blame it on the wound." She mutters, transforming into Elroy and exiting the room, continuing the conversation as she walks to leave the ward.

"You're body is compensating and trying to heal – it makes sense that it wants to sleep more." The taller one says.

"I understand why, it's just highly inconvenient." Elsa says. She pauses and turns back to the two medics. "How's Anna doing? Is she any better?" The skinner one nods and says:

"We haven't seen her yet today, but last night it looked like she's going to recover well. She was fairly swollen and very bruised, and the cut beside her eye is likely to turn into a scar, but with the salve and medicine we're giving her she should at least start looking normal sometime today."

"Well that's good to hear." A voice behind her says.

Elsa jumps and whips around, confronted with a smug looking Anna – a smirk plastered over her face.

"Neglecting other duties to come ask the medics about my condition? I don't know whether that's extremely kind of you or highly inattentive." She says, raising an amused eyebrow. Elsa shifts and smiles sheepishly.

"Perhaps it's a mix of both." Elsa concedes, but it sounds more like a question than a statement. Anna smiles.

"I appreciate the gesture either way." Anna says, walking by Elsa and plopping herself on the table in the middle of the room. Elsa turns around and watches as the shorter golem removes the gauze and bandage and the taller golem cleans the area with a wet cloth. Elsa winces when she sees the full extent of the damage she caused.

"For what it's worth,"—Elsa starts, her eyes fluttering to Anna's shoulder to keep from looking into her eyes—"I'm sorry." With that she turns heel and leaves, not even waiting for the girl to respond.

Hissing out a breath, Elsa walks through the halls—that seem deserted without all the extra traffic—and eventually climbs the stairs to the deck, then the stairs to the bridge. Moira gives her a look when Elsa finally settles beside her.

"Not like you to be late." She comments, looking back out over the sea. Elsa huffs a half-amused laugh.

"It's not like me to do a lot of things." Elsa says, twitching a small smile Moira knows is more for her benefit than the queen's. Moira hums.

"I suppose." The golem murmurs.

The two fall into comfortable silence, like they usually do. Elsa does the role to her part to expert precision, but she honestly wonders how the golems can stand still for hours on end and do the same things over and over without getting bored.

_That's because golems don't have the human condition_. Elsa's 'duh' voice cuts in. _Only humans have the concept of 'bored', and you didn't give it to them. You're the only golem that's a weird pain in the—_

"Elroy!"

Elsa snaps out of her thoughts to see Anna and Jasper talking in the middle of the deck, Anna waving for Elroy to come over without ever breaking her attention from the general.

_Well, better then berating myself_. Elsa thinks, shrugging and making her way to her adopted sibling. Stopping in front of the pair, Elsa bows her head slightly. She would bow properly, but her wound has seen to preventing that from happening any time soon.

"You called?" Elsa asks, raising her head. Anna breaks eye contact with Jasper to glance at her. Smiling—seemly forgetting that she'd called Elsa over—Anna turns to the older girl fully.

"I did, yeah." Anna says, then gestures for Jasper to speak. Jasper nods and meets Elsa's eyes.

"We've been discussing what your crew will be allowed to do once we reach Iloa. As of now Anna is bringing her horse and her two tigers, which will be a shock in itself for the citizens. They may know you're coming, but seeing huge snow golems marching through the streets . . . it wouldn't be good. Until the king sends word—therefore informing the population of the permission—that is when his selected number of golems will be allowed on shore." Jasper says. Elsa frowns.

"Are the citizens unaware that we are non-combatants aiding peace talk negotiations?" Elsa asks. Jasper nods.

"By now they probably do, but nations tend to be fickle with these things – always trying to find loopholes in their obligations." Jasper explains. Elsa snorts.

"With Anna and the Arendelle council making that contract you had to sign to get us here, I find it very unlikely that there'd be any leeway in that thing at all unless purposefully put there, and Arendelle isn't exactly known for treachery, either." Elsa says, her chest practically puffing with pride. Anna covers her mouth with a hand to hide her giggle. Jasper—seemingly not noticing the exchange—nods solemnly.

"Unfortunately everything has a first, and the Iloa population isn't any position to risk that it'll be with them." Jasper says. This time Anna frowns.

"That doesn't even make any sense – if we _were_ to break the contract and head to the front lines _if_ conflict breaks—which we are _not_—it would be to aid you, not to turn around and stab your nation in the back."

Jasper shrugs. "Dark times usually bring dark thoughts." He says, leaving it at that. Anna's frown deepens, but she can tell the topic is dead and turns to Elsa.

"When do you suppose the oars will be brought in?" She asks.

"Midway between noon and dusk I suppose, maybe sooner." Elsa says, shrugging in an 'I'm not sure' fashion. This time it's Jasper who frowns.

"We won't be in Iloa that fast, will we?" He asks. Elsa and Anna share a look. Anna gets the hint and clears her throat gently.

"No, we won't be – but we're pulling in our oars at the first sight of others or when we suspect someone might be close. After that we'll just relying on the sails to get us there." Anna says. Before Jasper can ask the obvious; 'what, why?' Anna raises her hand to stop him from interrupting. "Dark times harbour dark thoughts." Anna says, repeating Jasper's words. "Even if those holes are only used for oars, people might think it strange that they have doors, per se. Now, the crew and I know it's because we don't want structural weaknesses or permanently open cavities that turbulent water can easily splash into, but who else knows besides us? No one. In their minds their imagination is going wild and they're imagining an expanse of hidden cannons just waiting for be fired. It doesn't matter that this is a peace vessel to them, because people believe what they want to believe whether it's the truth or not."

Elsa has to suppress her grin as Jasper nods slowly, letting the logic seep in. He's so used to Anna being an open book that he is completely oblivious when she's not. Sure she is telling the truth, but it's twisted in such a way to suggest other conclusions – the wrong conclusions. Pride and love fills Elsa's chest.

_That is your negotiator_. Elsa thinks, barely stopping herself from grinning ear to ear as she watches the two continue talking, Anna flawlessly returning back to normal without so much as a blink from Jasper. _The funny thing_—Elsa's thoughts continue—_is that you'll never know the difference_.

Anna shrugs to whatever Jasper just said. "By the time we get there our station in the war will be widely known, so we should be fine manoeuvring our way through to get to the docks." Jasper frowns.

"I'm not so sure." He says, slowly. Anna waves off his concern.

"We're going to be there way ahead of Pryne, and the Iloa ships will be more than accommodating." She says. Jasper's frown deepens.

"Your right about Iloa, I just hope you're right about Pryne." He says. Anna frowns.

"You think Pryne's ships could be there already?" She asks. Jasper smiles mirthlessly.

"I think Pryne is unpredictable and could have mobilized far sooner than they lead us to believe."

"Well," Anna says, scratching the back of her neck. "For everyone's sake, let's hope your wrong."

* * *

Unfortunately, he wasn't.

Anna, donning full armour with her plumed helm grasped tightly in her hand, pales as she sees the standoff of Iloa's red and gray ships and Pryne's gold and white ships. Between the masses of ships is a strip of water large enough that cannon fire would just barely fall short of the opposing ships.

So when Elroy told her that it was the only available space for the Royal Grace to sail through, she nearly shit her pants. Thus her sudden liking of wearing her armour.

Jasper, who hadn't thought to bring armour with him on his trip to Arendelle, has been confined below deck until the danger is has passed. Anna almost wishes that she could do the same the moment they enter the beginning of the long stretch of no-man's-land. Well, no-man's-water if you want technicality.

Anna turns to the bridge and shouts; "Sound the horn!" Elroy nods and brings the icy trumpet to his lips, neglecting all fanfare in favour of the cease-fire anthem Elsa created a year and a half ago, which is now widely used to signal non-combatants. Anna's not exactly sure how the transition conspired, but she's happy as hell that it did or else she doesn't know how they would be able to get through this without getting shot at.

_If Pryne doesn't decide they want to shoot anyway_. Anna reminds herself, wincing.

Taking her mind off their unnerving situation, Anna stares into Pryne's fleet and calculates their force. They have less ships than Iloa—who also has ally ships standing with them—but they have a mix of three tier oar ramming ships, grappling ships—that hook themselves to enemy ships so the soldiers can board—and gunships. By the look of the staggered formation, it looks like Pryne is more than capable of holding their own with skill alone. Just like Arendelle two years ago, except without the aid of ice and snow.

Hissing, Anna pushes from the railing and walks to the other side of the deck, where she stares into the mass of ships compiled of Iloa and her allies. From what she can see they are all gunships with varying ranks of hull strength, depicting how fast each vessel can sail.

"Gods, I hope you guys can work together or Pryne will slaughter you." Anna whispers under her breath, watching as she sees the dots of the crew of each ship crowd the railings to get a look at the icy ship as it passes. Compared to some of the other vessels, the Royal Grace isn't one of the largest ones here, but it definitely rivals most of them. Anna just hopes this will work in her favou—

A trumpet from the Pryne ships sounds. Anna's eyes widen and she whips around.

She doesn't know trumpet calls – how the hell is she—

Elroy cuts the cease-fire anthem and responds to the call, a new vigour to his notes that doesn't settle well in her stomach. Still, Anna sighs in relief.

_Elsa knows trumpet calls – she must have passed that on to Elroy. Thank the Heavens for small miracles_. Anna thinks, uneasily walking to the middle of the deck before stopping – not wanting to get any closer to Pryne's side.

Pryne and Elroy continue exchanging trumpet calls when Jasper bursts onto the deck, his eyes wide with horror. He scans the deck and, upon seeing Anna, sprints towards her.

"What the hel—" He pauses when he hears Pryne's trumpet response. He pales, his muscles stiffening. Elroy responds back with a mass array of notes Anna can barely keep up with, and Jasper sighs shakily. Anna eyes spark when she realizes;

"You can understand what they're saying?" Anna asks, a note of urgency in her tone. Jasper frowns and gives Anna a look.

"You mean you don't?" He asks, confusion swimming in his features.

"Elsa was the trumpeter – not me. Hell, the only calls I know are the ones proposing cease-fire and the one that accepts it." Anna says, gritting her teeth as she listens to the nonsense of notes being exchanged. She knows it works something like Morse Code, but she didn't have the patience nor a skill with the blasted instrument to care.

Jasper sighs, tension tightening his chest, and stares at Pryne's fleet with narrow eyes. "From what I've overheard—the ice blocked most of the sound—I think Pryne is threatening to sink us." Anna's eyes bulge.

"What?" Her voice is too much like a squeak for her liking and she clears her throat. "Why?" She asks, her tone relatively back in the same octave. Jasper shakes his head.

"I don't know, I didn't catch the whole exchange. What I do know is that Elroy is parrying their attempts of hostility by warning them of the repercussions of war crimes against non-combatants and negotiators." Jasper pauses to listen to Pryne's latest trumpet call. The blood drains from his face. Anna is about to demand him to explain what was just said with Elroy blasts the royal fanfare as loud as he can.

_Why the hell is he_ . . . Anna sighs and rubs her temples with her free gauntleted hand, not even bothering to finish her thought.

"What was the point of keeping my presence a secret up till now if that stupid golem announces it to the whole damn world?" Anna asks, her eyebrows settling into an annoyed line as Elroy finishes his fanfare. Jasper gives her a sharp, urgent look.

"If he hadn't of announced you they would have opened fire on us." He hisses. Anna's eyes widen.

"Even with the ramifications that would befall on them?" Anna asks.

"Ramifications only apply if they lose." Jasper reminds her.

"They may be, but it'll leave a dark stain on their reputation that they'll never be able to wash out and it'll damage their nation in the long run." Anna rebuttals, her voice an aggravated growl.

"Yeah, well Pryne doesn't seem to give a shit." Jasper spits, lines of worry creasing his forehead.

It's only then both of them seem to notice that Pryne's trumpet hasn't responded yet.

Anna glances up to Pryne's fleet, then to the bridge of the Royal Grace where Elroy stands rigid, the icy trumpet held tightly in front of his mouth as he, too, waits for Pryne's answer.

When they do hear it, it's a different trumpet – further down the line of Pryne's fleet. To Anna's surprise, a trumpeter from Iloa's fleet is the one that answers. Anna watches Jasper listen to the exchange with complete enrapture until, finally, Elroy blasts one final call and everything grows silent. Anna glances around warily, noting that one ship from both lines begin sailing into the no-man's-water a short distance ahead of them.

"What just happened?" Anna asks, slowly. Jasper sinks weakly to his knees and huffs a relieved laugh.

"Pryne and Iloa have agreed to escort the Royal Grace to Iloa's docks." Jasper says, visibly shaking. "The only one who would have the authority to do that in Pryne's fleet would be the commander. If we're lucky,"—he points to the gold and white ship pulling parallel with Iloa's red and gray—"that's his ship and we'll be able to convince him into peace talks." Relief floods through Anna's veins and she wobbles, bending over and holding her knee with her free hand to keep her upright.

"I am probably the luckiest person ever." Anna breathes, a disbelieving grin twitching at her lips.

"I wouldn't doubt it." Elroy says, suddenly beside her. Anna jumps. When did he get there? Elroy smiles, but Anna can spot the dissolving panic swimming in his eyes. Anna smiles reassuringly.

"If it weren't for you I'm not sure what we would have done." She says. Elroy's fake smile morphs into a real one, and his eyes shine with pleasure.

"Elsa made sure that there were at least two golems on this ship that could understand and play trumpet calls." He jerks his thumb over his shoulder, towards the helm. "Moira's the other one, if you're wondering." Anna rubs the back of her neck sheepishly.

"Wow, I . . . wow. Elsa really did think of everything, didn't she?" Anna chuckles, suddenly feeling less than adequate. If Anna had been in charge of equipping this ship, she wouldn't have thought of half of the shit that Elsa did. Elroy smiles kindly, seemingly sensing her train of thought.

"Building and stocking this ship would be the last act she could do for you before you left, and she knew that you'd be depending on this thing for at least a month, so yes – as far as I can tell she thought of everything. Now, whether that holds true in the coming days remains to be seen, but we'll deal with that when the time presents itself. Hopefully it won't, but everything is unpredictable nowadays." Elroy says, chuckling softly. Anna smiles faintly.

"What're the odds that that Pryne ship holds the fleet commander?" Jasper interrupts, now back on his feet and nodding toward the gold and white ship ahead of them. Elroy looks out over the prow to examine the other vessel. He hums softly.

"Considering they know we're negotiators—or they should, because if they don't then they're really fucking stupid—and they didn't fire on us when I announced royalty, I'd say the likelihood is high." Elroy says, nodding in approval of his own assessment. He turns to Jasper. "It's unlikely that they'd stop from hostiles and offer to escort us if they didn't want something from us. I can assure you that peace talks isn't one of them considering the onslaught I just had to fend off, but I'm fairly certain that that ship contains the one you have to talk to. If Anna's luck holds out,"—he nudges the girl playfully—"she'll be able to convince them to lower arms. Hopefully long enough to make a difference." Anna eyes the back of the Pryne ship warily.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence." She says absently, chewing on her bottom lip in thought. She turns back to Jasper. "Prynians are impressed by bold acts of bravery and valour, right?" Jasper frowns.

"Yes, but doing any of the ones they'd consider worthy would undermine your position as a non-combatant." Jasper says, lines of worry creasing his forehead at the thought. Anna waves off his concern.

"What you speak of is for normal situations. All I have to do is stretch the boundaries of my rank while still remaining within my walls of authority." Anna chuckles. "Though it wouldn't hurt to make a few out-of-bounds blows on the sidelines." Jasper is about to rebuttal but Anna cuts him off with; "As long as there's no substantial evidence, their pleas will be viewed as making up stories to undermine peace. So, as long as I'm careful, all below-the-belt hits are valid." Anna grins wildly, but Jasper gives her a stern look. He turns to Elroy for help, but both Jasper and Anna are surprised to see Elroy suppressing his own grin.

"Oh Gods preserve me." Jasper breathes, rubbing his temple. Elroy laughs and claps a hand on Jasper's shoulder.

"You'll be fine." Elroy assures, smiling broadly.

"How are you so sure?" Jasper groans, dropping his hand and gesturing to Anna. "You've only known her for, what – eleven, twelve days?" Elroy laughs.

"I have faith that she doesn't want to stay here any longer than she has to and that all her actions will reflect her efforts to curb all escalation of events." Elroy says, his smile widening as Jasper relents with a sigh – a smile tugging at his lips as well. Anna rolls her eyes.

"Okay, enough with the male bounding at my expense. How long until we hit the docks?" She asks. Elroy sobers immediately.

"At this rate a half an hour, possibly forty-five minutes depending on how hectic the pier is." Elroy says. Anna nods.

"Okay. Let's get ourselves ready then, shall we?"

* * *

Thayne sits at his desk in the captain's cabin, scrawling neat, organized notes on a piece of parchment paper.

Thayne, the fleet admiral, has short brown hair at the top of his head, but the sides and back are shaved clean, along with all facial hair. He has piercing evergreen eyes and various scars donning his face. He is also in full armour – heavy armour of gold with white trims and designs. His helm—on the corner of the desk—is gold with swirling white designs and a full, overly plush golden plume.

There's a knock at the door.

"Come in." Thayne says, never taking his eyes off the parchment. He can see the person enter and bow at the waist from the top of his vision.

"We're almost at the docks, admiral." The woman says.

The woman, Arwyn, is a commodore and his second in command. She has long dark brown hair tied in a messy, falling-out bun, strands falling to frame her face. Her eyes are a sharp hazel, and a few battle scars don her face. Her armour—in the exact same style as Thayne's—has almost equal proportions of white as it does gold and her plume—in the same overly lavish fashion as Thane's—is pure white with an centimeter of gold lining the top strands.

"Very good." Thayne mutters, setting down his quill and leaning back in his chair. He motions for Arwyn to raise from her bow. She does. "Do we know anything about which royal Arendelle sent? Because they surely wouldn't have sent both."

"As of yet no, and I doubt we will until we meet her at the docks." Arwyn says, her feet a fist apart and her hands hooked behind her back – her eyes aimed just over Thayne's head. Thayne nods thoughtfully, as if he suspected as much.

"I'm not surprised – Jasper would never have even revealed royalty in uncertain waters." The admiral chuckles quietly. "Seems we forced that out of him prematurely, huh?" Arwyn struggles to suppress a smile. Thayne twitches a smile and motions for Arwyn to relax. "We're not in the company of others." Thayne says soothingly, smiling when the commodore eases into a more natural stance. "Good." Thayne praises, his smile broadening. "Now,"—he says, pushing to his feet and grabbing his helm—"let's see if we're to meet the queen of ice or the princess of smiles and rainbows."


	6. Officers of All Trades

Anna didn't have any more ease going down the seventy-degree docking plank—that she's only ever used once before—than she did the first time she used it. Needless to say, it was something to be seen when Jasper had just as much difficulty, only to be followed by Leo who climbed down without a hint of trouble. Anna had half the mind to mutter 'stupid horse', but thankfully had enough restraint to keep it in.

"Remember to send word when you get to the castle." Elroy calls from the railing. Anna cranes her now helmed head to meet the golem's eyes and sends him a thumbs-up, squinting in the light of the setting sun.

"No prob." Anna calls, adjusting her helm to block the light.

"When we do send word,"—Jasper breaks in, also craning his neck to see the golem—"make sure some of you bring my belongs along with you, okay?" Elroy grins, amused at the unnecessary reminder.

"Of course, general."

Anna nods and starts walking to exit the dock, Jasper by her side and her three snow creatures taking up the rear.

"Okay, so let's take Elroy's cue and try to be a little more formal than we've been, at least until we've tested the water with these people." Anna says, her voice low. Jasper nods.

"No complaints here." Jasper consents. Anna lets out a heavy breath, sweat already starting to cover her forehead from the heat.

"Gods preserve me – how do you deal with this every day?" Anna says. Jasper blinks in confusion and glances at Anna, observing her movements to catch on to what she's referring to. When he does, he grins.

"I could ask you the same thing about the cold." Jasper jibes, humour swimming in his eyes.

"Good point." Anna concedes, resisting the urge to fan herself with her hands.

By the time they step onto the cobblestone, a humungous crowd has formed that is actively being fended off by soldiers and guards. Anna's eyes widen.

"How do so many people know already?" She asks, completely bewildered. Jasper shrugs.

"Elroy did make a rather large announcement, and you have to admit,"—he points back to the Royal Grace—"a ship of ice kinda gives you away. They population may not of known it was you per se, but Arendelle is quite the mystery – one that many people believed they might never get the chance to witness in person. To be honest, most of these people might not even know that you're here; they probably just wanted to see a rare-to-see piece of Arendelle."

Anna nods absently, staring into the eager faces of the people in the crowd and watching the push and shove trying to get a better look at Anna's icy companions. "Well they got it." Anna whispers, sucking on her top lip in thought. After a moment of internal debate, she takes a few steps forward and raises both her hands in a pacifying motion. To her surprise, the crowd silences and stills almost instantly.

"Citizens of Iloa,"—Anna calls, projecting her voice—"as you may be aware, I am Princess Anna of Arendelle. Gener—" She's cut off by the crowd going absolutely _ballistic _– everyone clapping cheering and shouting in excitement at the royalty announcement and generally being a handful for the soldiers holding them back. Anna waves her hands in another pacifying motion. "Please settle down!" She calls. When the crowd quiets—not wanting to miss a single word—Anna releases a breath of air and continues. "General Jasper of Iloa sought Arendelle aid to secure peace within these now uncertain waters, and Arendelle has responded.

"Arendelle comes as a conduit of peace,"—Anna continues, not noticing Thayne and Arwyn, fully armed and armoured, exiting the docks and standing beside Jasper some paces behind her—"and we will uphold our end of the bargain." Anna waves her hands to the city around her. "People, livelihoods and tradition hang in the balance – the honour of the kind and the suffering of the common; from the highest nobility to the homeless – it is all important. You are _all_ important – you are _all_ worth saving and you are _all_ worth my time and effort to keep this place a safe home to live, to grow and to love." The crowd grows absolutely hysterical, and Anna can't help but grin and thrust her fist into the air. "For peace!" Anna bellows, her voice carrying surprisingly well over the cacophony of the crowd – which only grows louder at her latest declaration.

Her grin almost splitting her face, Anna laughs happily and turns to Jasper – only to notice the two people standing to his right. Out of everything to notice first, however, her eyes are drawn to their plumes – at least three times the size of hers.

_Kind of a waste, isn't it?_ Anna wonders as she approaches them. _I mean, you only need enough to notice, then it just gets excessive and tacky._ Anna thinks, suppressing a giggle and stifling her humour into something more serious. She nods politely when she stops in front of the Pryne officers.

"I'm Princess Anna of Arendelle – official negotiator and mediator of peace between Iloa and Pryne." Anna says.

Arwyn raises an eyebrow under her helm and roves her eyes over Anna's appearance. "For such a title, you certainly don't dress the part." She murmurs. Anna gives her a sharp look. The officer smiles and bows her head politely. "Excuse my manners, your highness. I'm commodore Arwyn, second in command of the Pryne fleet you just passed through." Anna smiles mirthlessly.

"Well, commodore Arwyn – excuse me for wanting to protect myself when passing through two opposing fleets wanting to slaughter each other. You can't say my worry is ill-placed, either, considering your fleet just threatened to open fire on a non-combatant ship for shits-and-fucking-giggles and the only reason it didn't was because of royalty. So please colour me a sceptic before it's confirmed that no one—Pryne, Iloa – I don't care—won't go all stab crazy and try to hack my head off." Anna says, a heavy bite to her voice. Arwyn's eyes widen in surprise. Anna smiles cynically. "I'm no novice – I've been entrenched in war before, and I know it's not rainbows and goddamn butterflies. So I'll be fucking damned if I don't do everything in my power to protect myself so I can stop this shit-show from getting any further than it already has."

Thayne clears his throat. "Your highness, I'm am fleet admiral Thayne—commander of the fleet behind us—and I must insist you refrain from making comments you are unable to take back, least you regret it." Thayne says – the political tone in his voice grating Anna in all the wrong ways. She glowers at him.

"You mean like you threatening to lodge cannon balls into the side of my ship with the purpose of watching me sink to the bottom of the ocean and drown?" Anna asks. Thayne's mouth drops slightly. A harsh, unforgiving smile spreads over Anna's lips. "Trust me, admiral, I _am_ following your advice and I will continue to do so. Just make sure you do the same, because I don't think Pryne's reputation will survive another mishap. Now, if you wish to kill me to spark a war that right now only I stand in the way of, you can go right ahead – but if you think it'll help you then you're stupider than I could have ever given you credit for." Anna stands in front of the two Pryne officers, silently daring them to rebuttal. When nothing comes, Anna's fake smile falls away. "We're in agreement. Good. Let's go to the castle then, shall we?"

Turning heel, Anna beelines to her horse and mounts, taking the reins in her hands and pulling up beside the three officers. "I'll clear the path to the castle, so stay close behind me. May, Lila – guard these three and make sure no one tries anything." With that, Anna snaps the reins and pushes Leo into a slow trot towards the crowd. "Clear a path!" Anna calls; "Give breadth!"

Maybe it's the unknown element of Arendelle or the intimidation of the triangle formation of the snow beasts—or may a mix of both—but the crowd parts in a rush, easily giving the party all the room they need to maneuver.

"This progression is under Arendelle protection." Anna bellows, making sure everyone can hear her. "Any and all acts against the Pryne officers, the Iloa officer, to me or my snow creatures will see to you facing immediate imprisonment and Arendelle judgement."

* * *

"Well," Arwyn mutters, scanning the crowd around them with a wary eye. "At least we're under good protection." She says, Anna periodically repeating the same; 'under Arendelle protection' message when they reach new stretches of crowd. Out of the corner of her eye, Thayne nods.

"With her clear ill-will towards us, I can honestly say I'm surprised." He says, his voice low. There's a huff from the other side of Thayne.

"You know, she never disliked you before today." Jasper says, keenly eying the crowd for any signs of hostility. "In fact she's been quite neutral on her stance toward you because, I quote; 'I haven't met them yet – how can I form an opinion on self-imposed images?'" Jasper chuckles humourlessly at the irony. "You could have gained her favour easily by beginning hospitable – it may have even given you an edge over Iloa, but as it stands you brought her ill-favour on yourselves."

"A simple 'hello Thayne, it's nice to see you again' would have worked just fine, Jasper." Thayne says, annoyance and sarcasm dripping from his tone. Arwyn glances over just in time to see Jasper glare at her superior.

"It is _not_ nice to see you and you will not address me in such a friendly manner." Jasper spits. The snow tiger on the other side of Jasper—who is just shy of being as tall as the man's shoulder—eyes the trio with narrow eyes.

The living, walking and—as far as Arwyn can tell—self-aware walking piles of snow in ice armour unnerve her more than she's willing to admit. They're intelligent, obedient and with physical limits that are completely unknown. From the stories of the Iloa-Arendelle war, however, snow creatures don't stop when stabbed, dismantled or beheaded – only stopping if they're melted—which doesn't work if they're completely covered in un-melting ice—or if they retreat. On top of that they are highly organized and adaptable, making a ground battle with Arendelle's chilly guardians a sure suicide run.

"Why not? I thought we've become quite intimate considering the last time we met I was in your pants pulling the stick out of your ass." Thayne responds. Arwyn coughs to stop herself from laughing. The tiger to her right narrows it's eyes and glares at the two men, a growl rumbling in its throat. Arwyn stiffens and turns to warn her commander, but he's too entrenched in the verbal battle to notice her silent hint.

"As I recall, you gave up after you were in up to your elbow and still couldn't reach it, so you just pulled out – not wanting to soil your fancy clothes even further." Jasper comments, smirking. Thayne mouth twitches in disgust. Before he can respond, however, Arywn cuts in.

"Sorry to interrupt your pleasantries,"—she states sarcastically—"but these beasts look like they're about to murder you." Jasper sends her an annoyed look, but at the mention of the tigers his expression is calmer than before.

"Their names are May and Lila, and they're giving us looks because they think we run more of a risk of breaking into hostility than the crowd." Jasper says, going back to scanning the crowd – whose looks are conflicted from the awe of Arendelle and the distain of the Pryne officers. Arwyn hums skeptically.

"Giving a pet a name doesn't make them any more human." She says. It's an offhanded way of gathering information – getting someone to explain something to get you to believe in it, but Jasper just laughs.

"Let's see if you say the same thing once you meet the golems." Jasper says, unable to stop the broad smile that twitches on his lips. Arwyn frowns.

"They're coming to shore?" Arwyn asks, a hint of panic pinging in her chest but thankfully not transferring to her voice.

_Snow creatures fortified on land will make any land-battles nearly impossible_. Arwyn thinks, gritting her teeth. Jasper gives the commodore a look.

"You didn't expect them all to stay on the ship, did you?" He asks, but it's more rhetorical than anything else. He huffs and goes back to scanning the crowd. "They'd be of no use holed up on the ship, and if Anna's 'under Arendelle protection' is anything to go by, she has no intention of leaving security solely up to us." Arwyn scoffs.

"They're non-combatants – they couldn't do anything if they wanted to." She says. Jasper gives her a funny look.

"From what you've seen of the princess so far, do you honestly think she cares about technicalities?" He asks. When Arwyn hesitates, he continues. "Being security in negotiations and being soldiers in war are two completely different things to her – I should know, I've been to the Arendelle her and Elsa rebuilt. It's one of the most peaceful, loving places I have ever been, but there are guards and security posted everywhere and ready for anything. The nation strives for harmony, but they are not foolhardy to believe that that falls hand-in-hand with leaving themselves vulnerable. So if you think she won't let her golems rough-house a few people disrupting balance in order to keep balance, than you are sourly mistaken."

"Halt! Progression halt!"

The three officers stop sharply and frown. They are nowhere near the castle and Anna is leaping off her horse, then bolts the moment her feet hit the ground. Thayne's eyes bulge.

"What is sh—"

The princess stops a couple paces in front of the progression and drops to a knee, stopping a young girl—who had run in front of her horse—from running to the officers. Arwyn frowns at the display.

"She's stopping us in the middle of a crowd who hates us to chat with a young child? Has she gone mad?" She asks, her hand going to the hilt of her sword as she eyes the crowd with a heightened awareness.

"Trust her." Jasper says, even as he does the same – even without any armour or weapons. "She knows what she's doing."

* * *

"No, no – listen to me." Anna says soothingly, her gauntleted hands resting gently on the young girl's shoulders. "Everything is tentative at the moment and right now Pryne's officers are exposed in unfriendly territory and if I don't get them t—" the young girl's face contorts in confusion.

_Small words, moron – she's just a child_. Anna's internal voice scolds her. Taking a deep breath, she tries again.

"A lot of these people don't like Pryne right now, and I have two of their soldiers with me. I need them to secur— negotia— I need them to talk with your king to get their ships to sail away, and the longer it takes to get to the castle, the less likely that's going to be." Anna says, nearly breaking a sweat from the effort of dumbing down her words.

_Funny, it never used to be a problem for you_. Anna's thoughts hum. _Guess the war did have some positive side effects after all_.

The young girl makes an 'ooh' expression and grins, snapping a sloppy salute.

"Aye aye, moi captain." The girl teases, her words rounded from a lack of syllable precision. Anna grins and gently ruffles the girl's hair.

"'Atta girl." Anna coos, taking the girl by the armpits and hoisting her up. The girl squeals in delight and Anna laughs and settles the girl on the side of her hip, holding her there with one arm. The girl giggles and clutches at the armour around Anna's neck to hold herself up. Anna grins and gently taps the girl's nose before looking to the crowd. "Who's child is this?" She calls. A woman tentatively takes a step forward and curtseys.

"She's mine, your highness." The woman says, a fearful waver in her voice. Anna smiles gently and walks towards her, handing over the child – who protests with a whine. The woman holds the child close and bows her head. Anna's smile softens and she places two fingers under the woman's chin and makes her meet her eyes.

"She's beautiful." Anna whispers. Her smile broadens when the woman flushes in response. Anna, her features sobering, reaches forward and cups the back of the woman's neck. "I'm going to do everything in my power to help you, so I need you to believe in me. Can you do that?" Anna asks softly. The woman, her breath shallow, nods weakly.

"Of course, your highness." She breathes, practically vibrating with the shock of Anna—the _princess_ of _Arendelle_—being so intimate with her. Anna gives the woman a breathtaking smile that not even the shadows of her helm can diminish.

"Thank you." Anna says, lowering her hand. "Thank you." Anna repeats, her eyes watering with affection. She gives the stunned woman another earth shattering smile and turns back to the progress and waves her hand forward. "Onward!" She shouts, skillfully mounting Leo while he's moving and settling herself in the saddle. "This progression is under Arendelle protection! Any and all acts—"

* * *

Anna dismounts when they're safely in the castle courtyard, but she's not any less alert then she was before. While she had to worry about mob mentality in the streets, here she has to worry about trained soldiers and guards with a focused motive. If she's honest, Anna's not sure which scenario is worse.

Going to a knee, Anna carefully dislodges a loose, smooth rock from the cobblestone and stands. She turns to Jasper and tosses it to him. He catches it. "Hold on to that for me." Anna says. Thayne raises an eyebrow.

"Why do you need a rock?" He asks, turning his plumed head to Anna. Anna glances briefly at the plume, still floored by how obnoxiously large it is. Thayne's eyebrow raises further. "Yours is just small." He responds. Anna's eyes widen.

"Wait, did I say that out loud?" She asks even though she already knows that, by the admiral's response, that yes, yes she did. "Well." She says, rubbing the back of her neck. "That . . . that was unintentional." She glances back to the plume. "But true." She murmurs, humming at her appraisal. "Anyway." Anna says, breaking her stare with the golden plume and meeting Thayne's eyes—much to his amusement—and shoves her thumb over her shoulder to the castle. "I'm assuming we're suppose to go in there, so let's have at it."

Anna turns heel and walks up the stairs to the main doors and, upon entering, isn't at all surprised to see two lines of guards ready to escort them.

"Well." Anna mutters, resting her hands on the hilts of her swords – an action that doesn't go unnoticed. "Okay,"—Anna says, projecting her voice—"escort us to the throne room."

The tension across Anna's shoulders tightens the further into the castle she goes, and her two tigers match her anxiety to a T. Anna grits her teeth and narrows her eyes, unconscientiously half hunching and walking in a stance preparing for an enemy onslaught. The guards give her strange glances and it does nothing to ease the suffocating air, but Anna can't seem to stop herself – the safety of so many people depend on these next couple minutes going smoothly and—

A hand on her shoulder stills her.

Anna turns her head to see Jasper smiling reassuringly, though it contains more concern than the princess is comfortable with. Anna tries to smile back, but it comes out as more of a grimace. Something akin to pity flashes in the general's eyes.

"We're safe here." Jasper says, his voice calming. Anna's eyes narrow.

"Yeah, _we're_ safe." Anna hisses, knowing full well that the guards and Prynian officers can still hear her. She jerks her head towards the golden officers. "What about them?" She accuses. "Iloians have a lot of motive to want the head honchos taken out and the soldiers here have the skill to do it and _I don't have my golems_ because, if you recall, _I left them on the ship_ to not freak out the population. Now it's up to just me and my two personal guards in a stew of potential assassins to make sure no one does anything stupid and causes the streets to run red with blood." Anna spits. Before she can continue, Thayne takes a step forward with a hand raised in a pacifying motion.

"As much as I appreciate your obvious concern, your highness,"—he says with the upmost sincerity, then gestures to him and Arwyn—"my second and I are more than capable of fending for ourselves." Anna gives him a pointed look.

"It's my hope that you won't have to." Anna grits, tightening her grip on the top of her hilts. Jasper lays his other hand on Anna's arm.

"Let's just get to the throne room, okay? The sooner the king approves your golems coming ashore the sooner we're all going to be safe and secure." It's the pleading tone in Jasper's voice that makes Anna relent. With a sigh, Anna waves for the progression to continue. There's still caution in her step, but her lack of overwhelming suspicion eases the mood. Arwyn clears her throat gently. Anna doesn't turn around, but she tilts her head to the side to show that she's listening.

"You're a very . . . unconventional negotiator, aren't you?" She asks, genuine curiously ringing in her tone. Anna chuckles softly.

"I'm not exactly known for adhering to the rules, no." Anna replies, a smile in her voice. "But I am known for getting things done, so off I sailed and here I docked." Anna shrugs. In the commodore's silence, Anna huffs a small laugh – almost hearing the silent question on the older woman's tongue. "Sorry to disappoint you, but Elsa is busy running the kingdom – if you want to meet her you're going to have to come to Arendelle." Behind her, Arwyn raises an eyebrow.

"Is that an offer?" The commodore asks. Anna barks a hearty laugh.

"If things go well here, I must say that I insist." Anna responds, her smile clear in her words.

She's trying every tactic in the book to get these two to like her. The first step was at the docks, the second during their trip to the castle and the third in the castle. She's shown anger, protectiveness and sense of duty and, finally, the friendlier side to her personality. Step four is integrating everything into a confusing mush, and step five is simply being herself. Hopefully by the end she'll have the officers wrapped around her finger.

She knows her behaviour is confusing the hell out of Jasper, but he doesn't know her well enough to realize her game plan has already set itself into motion. Only Elsa could ever tell the difference, and that's only because they're together.

Elsa's game face is easy to spot – she goes all serious and emotion is barren from her face. Anna, on the other hand, is harder to pin down. While Elsa uses her domineer and words to carve her will, Anna manipulates emotion. To do that, Anna assesses the people she needs to deal with and reacts accordingly – her emotional state never staying stagnate long enough for someone to latch onto her purpose or pin her down.

For some reason, no one can seem to figure out that people are more willing to do things for someone they like.

"Hmm." Arwyn hums. "Strange."

The conversation naturally dies then, everyone seemingly being able to sense how close they are to the throne room by the air of the guards they pass and the maids as they scuttle by. Before long, the large double doors in which hides everything that decides the fate of Iloa, opens before them.

The group walks up the plush red and gray carpet and stops a respective distance from the three-stair incline to the throne, where the king sits.

The king, a buff man, has short curly brown hair and brown eyes. He wears lavish formal military style clothes and a small red half-cape drapes from his shoulders.

"Your majesty." Jasper says, bowing low and from the waist. "I am General Jasper returning from my journey to Arendelle. I have brought with me Princess Anna of Arendelle, official negotiator of the Iloa-Pryne peace talks, along with—"

"Official negotiator?" The king questions, frowning. "Gerenal, this girl is but a child – I agreed to have an Arendelle presence, not for them to take charge over our situation." Anna's eyebrows furrow into an unamused line.

"With all due respect, your majesty,"—Anna drawls, not caring to hide her displeasure—"Iloa's handle over this situation has slipped past your ability to control long before now. That aside, however, you can't rightfully deny me the role that was promised in the contract Jasper had to sign to get me here without completely abolishing it, therefore giving me no legal obligation to stay. Now, you can tell me that Pryne won't let me leave with tension as high as it is, but I think we both know that that isn't true. In fact, I think they would be ecstatic and even offer to escort me halfway back to Arendelle just to ensure I had no intention of coming back." The king stares at her for a long moment before narrowing his eyes at Jasper.

"You signed Iloa into such high obligations without my input?" The king asks, slowly. The dangerous edge of the words sends prickles up Anna's spine. Jasper stiffens, still in his low bow.

"That's correct, your majesty, but if I hadn't—"

"I don't care." The king growls. "You took matters of high state into your own hands without the expressed right to do so. From this moment on you will be imprisoned and—"

"Imprisoned?" Anna cuts in, surprised. The king sends her a dark look, obviously not used to being interrupted. Anna, undeterred, gestures to Jasper. "If I may, the only reason Arendelle even _considered_ helping Iloa was because Jasper was the one who asked." She can sense the surprise from the two Pryne officers, but the king—his royal training kicking in—doesn't look fazed at all.

"Why is that, exactly?" The king asks, in a careful tone that sets Anna on edge. She straightens her shoulders and steels herself.

"Contrary to popular belief, Arendelle does not hold a grudge against the officers of the joint collective fleet who waged war upon us. In fact, the five commanders redeemed themselves during the peace negotiations in the respective way they accepted us and our offers – especially Jasper, even though he had the most right to be hostile. No, the ones Arendelle are wary of are the leaders who commanded these officers to raze our kingdom to the ground." Anna takes a slow step forward. "See, we like Iloa because of Jasper, but we don't trust you. In fact, if you had sent anyone else besides Jasper to ask Arendelle for help we would have had no reason to believe any of it had a speck of truth and ordered them out of our waters.

"So,"—Anna continues, an unsettling smile sliding onto her lips—"as you can probably imagine, you are _very_ lucky that I'm here, but one ill move from you will see me gone. One of these moves just happen to be imprisoning Jasper or denying him a seat at the negotiation table." Anna's oily smile widens when the king clenches his jaw. Anna takes a step back and manhandles Jasper back into a standing position. He tries to bow again, but Anna holds him firm and growls; "Stay." He reluctantly obeys, but the king's eyes narrow further nonetheless.

"You think you can come into my kingdom and do whatever you please?" The king demands. "Do you think you have any right to claim my soldiers as your own an—"

"I'm not claiming your soldiers as my own." Anna says, her voice suddenly silky smooth. "I am giving credit where credit is due and making sure everyone gets the respect that they deserve." The king's jaw clenches ever tighter, to the point where Anna's surprised his teeth aren't splitting at the pressure.

"Since you obviously detest Iloa, why do I have any reason to believe that this peace contract you approve won't cripple us?" The king accuses. Anna barks a sharp, bitter laugh before her features abruptly turn to stone and she glares at the king.

"Arendelle revolves around the idea of everlasting peace. No matter who we favour and who we do not, we create and build on foundations that will last for generations and not crumble within a decade. We do not operate on demands and concessions, we operate in the space where everyone interlocks their strengths and weaknesses and use their abilities in areas where others cannot. I will not allow these two forces to go home with a list of 'can's' and 'can't's', because a war not fought and a war without a winner will always spark the fear of who will attack next and when. With the Iloa-Arendelle war we solved this with trade routes. It will not be as simple as that with your current situation, but I promise you that I will find the best solution for everyone if you and Pryne can offer me your full cooperation." Anna finishes, glancing between Thayne, Arwyn and the king for any sign of their headspace. Thayne, after a quick mumbled discussion with Arwyn, hums in approval. He turns to Anna and bows politely to show his commitment.

"If the king will allow me to summon more officers to come to the table, then I offer you Pryne's complete cooperation and allegiance." Thayne says. Anna smiles gratefully.

"Thank you." She says, offering the fleet admiral her hand. Thayne blinks for a moment before straightening from his bow and taking her hand. "If the king agrees,"—Anna continues—"I can promise you that I will do everything in my power to make a peace contract worth having." Thayne smiles, almost charmed, and bows his head thankfully – bringing Anna's gauntleted hand to his helm. Of course he can't actually kiss her hand with the two armour obstacles, but it thrills Anna nonetheless.

"I would expect nothing less from you, your highness." Thayne says, raising his head and gently releasing Anna's hand. Anna smiles, relaying her gratitude, before turning to the king.

"What say you, your majesty?" Anna asks. The king rubs his mouth gently, his perplexed gaze shifting from Thayne and Anna. Anna almost grins at barely suppressed thought that look contains.

How the hell could Anna so easily get Pryne to oblige?

If that doesn't impress the king, Anna's not quite sure what would. Hell, she's surprised she got them to cooperate so easily.

Eventually, the king nods.

"Very well." He says, turning to Thayne. "You can summon no more than three Pryne officers from your fleet." The king looks to Anna. "Iloa officially recognizes your position as head of the Iloa-Pryne peace talks." He says, even though he doesn't look happy with it. Anna grins in satisfaction. Thayne and Arwyn bow their heads politely towards the king.

"Thank you, your majesty." Thayne says, turning heel with Arwyn and making to leave.

"Whoa!" Anna says, halting them. They turn back to face her. "Where do you think you're going?" She asks. Thayne frowns.

"To send word to the fleet." He says, confused. Anna laughs in fake humour while May and Lila block the officers' path.

"Yeah, no. See, while you agreed to the talks, you haven't actually agreed to not start stabbing people and blowing their brains out. So, until you and the king here sign off on a temporary cease-fire agreement, you're not going anywhere. Technically you'll be staying in the castle and with the Iloa population not liking you very much it wouldn't be advisable that you leave anyway, but that's beside the point." Anna says, shrugging as if she didn't just say she's practically locking the officers in a fancy prison. Thayne's jaw muscles bulge.

"In regards to the latter part of your explanation, I do not feel as if me and my first are safe enough within these walls to prolong our stay. In regards to the former part of your explanation, the first blows have technically not been exchanged yet, therefore a cease-fire agreement is impossible to draw up." Thayne says, aggravation and something else that Anna can't quite place seeping into his voice.

"Firstly, as soon as the king approves it, I'm going to send for thirty golems for negotiation security. From that thirty you, your officers and the important Iloa figures will be assigned a personal golem to be constantly with you and ensure your safety. Secondly, yes – I know." Anna says, turning to Jasper and holding out her hand. "Rock please." She demands. Jasper frowns and takes the rock out of his pocket, handing it to the princess. Anna holds up the rock for the Pryne officers to see. "This will be our way around that little clause."

"Wait, what?" Arwyn says, frowning. "What do you want us to do with that, chuck it at each other?" She asks. Anna shrugs.

"Pretty much." She says, giving the rock back to Jasper and taking a step to the side. Jasper gives her a funny look.

"You want me to throw this at them?" He asks, doubtful. Anna nods.

"As long as you don't throw too hard or aim for the eyes, nose or mouth, yeah – all you have to do is make sure you hit one of them." Anna says, turning to the Pryne officers. "Once he throws it one of you will pick it up and, with the same rules, you will throw it back at him. When it lands, blows will officially have been exchanged and you can draw up a temporary cease-fire agreement with the king. Kapish?" When the two parties nod, Anna gestures for Jasper to go ahead.

With a frown, Jasper pulls his arm to the side and, with a flick of his wrist, whips the rock to land with a solid _thunk_ in the center of Thayne's breastplate. Arwyn retrieves the stone and lops it to Thayne, who easily catches it. In the same manner as Jasper, Thayne hurls the rock back. It lands in the dead center of Jasper's forehead and his head snaps back. He grunts and stumbles back, rubbing his forehead gently. Anna gives Thayne a look.

"I'm pretty sure I said; 'not that hard', admiral." Anna says. Thayne hears the warning ring in her tone and smiles with false regret.

"My apologies, your highness." He says, even though Anna can tell he doesn't mean a word of it. Anna's jaw clenches and jerks her head back to the king.

"Just get a cease-fire signed." She orders.

_Gods preserve me_. Anna thinks, sighing as she follows the man back to the king.

* * *

To her upmost regret, it wasn't much better the next day, either.

The session has been in not even two hours and already threats and lewd unpleasantries that make Anna's stomach curl in disgust are being thrown around the table.

On the Pryne table is Thayne, Arwyn and his chosen three officers. On the Iloa table—separated from the Pryne table by three meters—is Jasper, the king and his _entire_ council. At the head of the tables, at a desk all by herself, is Anna. Around the outskirts of the room are eight golems—including Elroy and Moira—who stand watch over the proceedings. All of them except for Elroy—who's already claimed by Anna—is assigned to someone in the room.

By some small miracle Anna managed to convince everyone—well, Pryne mostly—not to bring any weapons into the negotiation room. They eventually agreed when Anna took off her own sword belts and handed over the weapons to one of the golems on guard to hold onto. To Anna's regret, all the Pryne officers wore armour to the meeting – not a screaming sign of good faith. Anna hopes they'll catch the clue with her not donning her armour, but she's not going to put money on it.

"You're all spineless whores, that's why!" A Prynian officer shouts over the cacophony, breaking Anna's thoughts.

"You're more whipped than a slave beaten into submission!" A council member shouts back.

"You want to talk about whipped?"—The same Prynian officer continues—"When we defeat your pitiable army I'm going to find you wife and kids and make them—" Anna stands abruptly and slams her hands into her desk. The room silences. Anna forces an irritated smile.

"Let's all start again, shall we?" Anna asks rhetorically. She points to herself. "Hello, I'm Anna – the head negotiator that all of you should be listening and adhering to. Within this room my word is law, and right now I believe you are all breaking them – so let me state them again. There will be no talk of whore mothers, whore sisters or whores in general along with whipping, slavery, threats, beatings or rape. In fact the only things you _are_ allowed to talk about are constructive _peace treaty_ ideas. If any of you break one of these rules again, I will personally toss you out of this room and never let you back in. Is this clear?" There's soft murmurs of agreement among the room. "Good." Anna says, sitting back down. "Now, we're going to do this is an organized fashion.

"That means that I'm going to let one side talk for ten minutes about what they want and don't want, and then I'm going to let the other side talk for ten minutes about what they want and don't want. I will be taking notes throughout this procedure so, once it's done, I will open the floor by stating the things you both agree on and work with that. Once that's partially settled, I will switch to the topics that are strongly disagreed with to create some sort of middle ground and understanding. If you talk out of turn, break one of my rules or change the topic prematurely with a negative intent, you will be permanently expelled from these negotiation proceedings. Everyone got that?" Anna asks. Again, there's nodding heads and mumbles of approval. "Good." She says, pulling a small stack of blank parchment towards her and a quill and ink. "Who'd like to go first?" She asks. Thayne gestures to the Iloa side.

"Iloa can take the honours." Thayne says. Anna frowns softly, but nods nonetheless. She looks down to her notes, neatly writing; 'Iloa's Ideas' at the top of the first page and '1' in the top right hand corner. She glances up to the Iloa table.

"Elroy will be the keeper of time. On his mark, your time has begun and you may speak." She says, turning back to her notes and getting ready to write.

"Mark." Elroy says, tapping a finger against his side to count the seconds.

"Well,"—one of the council members says, deciding to speak first—"we don't want any Pryne military presence in or around our borders. If they want their soldiers or ships to pass through Iloa territory we want them to ask us for permission, and they'll only be allowed if we permit it. Other than that, if they are doing large-scale military drills—whether on land or water—we have to be informed, or else we have no other reason than to believe they're mounting for an attack upon us. They do not have to ask for permission to do the drills, of course, because they're in their own kingdom – I just request they inform us ahead of time so that no one assumes the worst." The council member nods, signaling the end of his segment. The next council member clears her throat, telling the others that it's her turn.

"As for trade." The woman says, looking at a few scattered pieces of paper around her. "We have always had a fair trade agreement that was generous to both of us until eleven months ago when Pryne demanded certain revisions or else they'd cut the contract completely. Iloa accepted and made the amendments, but it is at an exchange rate highly favouring Pryne and at a steep that Iloa won't be able to keep up with. All I ask for is that we revert back to the original version of our current contract – it's worked for our kingdoms for nearly a decade, and I don't see why it can't continue as such." The woman puts her papers into a neat little stack and nods, indicating that she'd done.

"With Pryne's aggressive nature,"—the next council member says without warning—"I believe it would be beneficial for Iloa to set up an embassy in Pryne's capital and recieve an honorary seat in the council." There's murmuring from both tables, but one sharp look from Anna stops their rebuttals cold. The man clears his throat to continue. "As an honorary member we would not have a vote in any of the final verdicts, but it would give us the ability to voice our opinions and let them be heard so that they may be taken into consideration."

"And biannual meetings." Jasper says, finally speaking up. "The meeting locations would be rotated between Iloa and Pryne and the topic of discussion can be anywhere from casual to pressing issues. In a round-about way, it's checking up on each other and the circumstances in a friendly, easy manner."

This goes on for the next several minutes until:

"Time." Elroy says, his finger no longer tapping the seconds. Anna nods and finishes off the last request along with some personal notes along the bottom. She places the parchment under the other three along the side of her desk – the ink not yet dried enough for the pages to be stacked. On a new piece of parchment, Anna neatly writes; 'Pryne's Ideas' along the top and, again the page number in the top right corner. Anna looks up from her desk and turns to the Pryne table.

"The rules are the same as before – if you need them repeated I am more than happy to oblige, otherwise you may begin on Elroy's mark." Anna says, turning back to her parchment and dipping her quill in the ink. Elroy waits for a beat, watching the Pryne table for any signs of questions before starting to tap his finger and saying:

"Mark."

The Prynians jump in immediately and, unlike the Iloians, directly address the other table.

"We want a permanent seat on your council that has as much power and voting veto as all your other council members have." A buff man says.

"And we want annual reports on the full scope of your military's number and capabilities." A shorter man cuts in. "We also want the direct and final say in the max number of the soldiers and ships that you're allowed to have."

"Annual games!" The last officer joins in, almost outrageously excited. "Every year both kingdoms train their best and brightest for games of smarts, skill and steel – which will show which kingdom is truly the best on a regular basis." Arwyn rolls her eyes.

"Why don't we just go all the way and say whichever side wins takes over as Iloa's high council member, why don't we." She mocks, but the officer merely grins.

"Hey, that's a thought." He turns to Anna. "Add that in there, too." Anna glances up just long enough to give him a strange look before jotting it down. "Do you have it?" He asks.

"Yes, I have it." Anna mutters, in a displeased tone. "Please just continue with the proceedings."

"I was kidding, you know." Arwyn mumbles to the man. The man laughs.

"I wasn't."

"Anyway." Thayne cuts in. "We want a better trade exchange rate. Maybe not as harsh as the one we forced on you almost a year ago, but we still want it favouring Pryne."

"We also want all your ship building contracts." Arwyn adds. "You will be no longer allowed to hire any other nation to build any of your seafaring vessels, and you are only allowed to build your own if you first ask Pryne and supply the details of the project. When and only when we approve of the project will you be allowed to do it."

"What? That's outrageous!" An Iloa council member shouts. Anna glares at the man and points to the door.

"Out." She says. The man turns to her, his jaw slack with shock. He gestures to the Pryne table.

"Do you even _hear_ what they're saying? How can yo—"

"I, said, _out_." Anna growls.

"But—"

Anna glowers at the man. "I clearly stated that there would be no interruptions because anything you have an issue with would be promptly dealt with in the next stage. You have failed to comply with these rules and now you are facing the punishment. So you can either willingly leave or take me up on my offer of manhandling you out of this room. Which will it be?" The muscles in the man's jaw bulge as he grinds his teeth together, but he eventually stands and leaves the room. With a sigh, Anna finishes the sentence she was writing. "I apologize for the interruption." She mumbles absently as she writes. When she finishes she nods to the Pryne table. "Please continue."

This goes on for a painful amount of time until, finally:

"Mark." Elroy says, cutting one of the officers off mid-sentence. Thayne raises an eyebrow.

"I think Iloa cheated us out of our full time." The fleet admiral comments absently.

"And I thought being adults made us more mature, but I don't see that happening." Arwyn responds with a shrug.

"Please stop trying to provoke a fight." Anna says, finishing off her notes and setting the pages to the other side of her desk to dry. She puts her quill in the small ink bottle and stands, putting the two sets of pages next to each other and examining them.

As far as she can tell, the comparisons are a joke.

Iloa is actually being reasonable in their demands, but whether that's because they want to be or because they're afraid to make demands of a nation that has the power to cripple them is hard to say. Pryne, on the other hand, isn't even trying to be in the realm of plausible. In fact, as far as Anna can tell, every single one of their suggestions directly or indirectly hint towards ultimately taking full control over Iloa and claiming the nation as their own.

_Pryne doesn't want peace_. Anna suddenly realises, her heart hammering in her ears. She clenches her teeth. _How the hell am I suppose to create a treaty that one party is actively trying to sabotage? This is a game to them – they're just wasting our time and pissing around hoping that Iloa will call the whole thing off and the war can be blamed on their impatience. If Pryne wins, no one will be alive to tell the difference, either_.

Sighing, Anna rubs her eyes gently. Compared to this, the negotiations two years ago were a big goddamn piece of cake – at least then everyone wanted the same thing.

_They were also threatened by Elsa's power_. Anna reminds herself. Shaking her head to get herself out of the past, she lays a finger of either hand on the one of the only topic that both sides had mentioned and seemed willing to discuss.

"Okay." Anna finally says, looking up at the pair of tables. "We will now be discussing the issue of trade. While Iloa wants the original version of the current contract, Pryne only wants to revisit the revisions to maybe make them a little less harsh, but keep them firmly in place nonetheless." Anna sits back down. "This will be an open discussion that either side may comment on. It doesn't matter who speaks or when, as long as it is not over top of each other or just big fucking pissing contest." Anna says. Arwyn gives the princess an amused look, a smile twitching at the side of her lips. Anna twitches a satisfied smile back. Thayne notices the exchange, but doesn't comment on it. Instead he turns to the Iloa table.

"The current rate is that you sent thirty-percent more goods then what you receive. I will go no lower than twenty-percent." He says, as if it brokers no argument.

"That's still outrageous." The king says, speaking up for the first time in almost a half an hour. "If you insist that a percentage must still be in the contract for you to uphold it, then I insist that it come down to ten percent."

"No deal." Thayne responds, a sharp undertone to his voice that makes the king prickle and Anna frown. "I said no lower than twenty-percent and I meant it. Either you take it or you leave it."

"Then we leave it." The king says, leaning back in his chair. "With all the harm you've caused us and the ill-will you harbour towards us, I don't see why we should keep a trade contract with you anyway. For if your people think the same, there's no telling the quality of the goods that we'll be receiving." Thayne smiles, but there's an eerie hollowness behind it.

"Do you think that's the best option?" Thayne says, a silent threat lacing his words. The king clenches his jaw but soldiers onward.

"We have many allies and many other kingdoms that we trade with – we don't need one that seeks to harms us." The king responds. Thayne's hollow smile widens and he leans forward, resting his elbows on the table and interlocking his fingers.

"Who says we won't individually attack all these nations if you don't renew your contract with us?"

"There are no threats allowed." Anna chastises, scowling at the admiral. He shrugs.

"I don't think a promise categorises as 'threat'." He says, with a causal nature that sets the hairs on the back of Anna's neck stand on end.

That's when all hell breaks loose.

Anna tries her best to take control over the escalating situation, but there's simply too many people and only one of her. Eventually Anna just sighs, rubs her temples and leans back in her chair – letting the two tables bicker as she jots down some notes on the pieces of parchment.

After this goes on for another couple minutes, Anna collects her notes into a neat pile and puts them into her leather satchel. Standing, Anna ducks under the strap and slings it over her shoulder. By some odd twist no one except Jasper, Thayne and Arwyn seem to notice her preparing to leave. It's only when Anna waves to Elroy and he starts moving to the door that the rest of the room seems to catch on. The king stands, irritation practically pulsating from him.

"Where are you going?" He demands, his face red with frustration from the verbal abuse that's just ended.

"Away from here." Anna replies, walking around the desk but stopping before making to leave. "This session is taking an hour and a half break. When we reconvene, I expect only three people from each side to come back." She raises her hand to stop the rising rebuttals. "On the Pryne side Thayne and Arwyn are fixated. On the Iloa side, Jasper and his majesty are fixated. The other member each side wishes to choose is entirely up to you, just make sure they won't break my rules or give me any reason to kick them out because they won't be very useful to you. The two unselected Pryne officers will continue to have their golem guardians if they choose to stay and the selected Iloa council member will be assigned a golem guardian for protection. Other than that, I take my leave. It has not been a pleasure." Anna says, turning heel and leaving the room.

She breathes a sigh of relief the moment she steps into the hallway and takes her swords from one of the golems on guard and fastens on the belts. Resting her hands on the hilts, she walks in the direction of her room.

"Whoa, wait up!"

Anna frowns and turns around to see Arwyn grabbing her sword and shield from one of the golems and jogging to catch up with the princess, her protector golem in tow. Anna raises an eyebrow when the commodore stops in front of her.

"As much as I'm curious, can we not do this where I'm likely to be bombarded by angry council members?" Anna asks. Arwyn laughs and nods, already walking as she motions for Anna to do the same.

"I'm sorry you have to deal with that." Arwyn says, slinging her shield strap over her shoulder and adjusting the heavy thing on her back before strapping on her sword belt.

"So am I." Anna breathes, stretching her shoulders. Arwyn glances to Anna's left hand and nods to it.

"I noticed that you're wearing a ring, are you married? Forgive me for not knowing – Pryne doesn't get much news about Arendelle." The commodore says. Anna knows the woman is only talking to her to gather intelligence but, upon the mention of her ring, Anna smiles involuntarily.

"Engaged." Anna corrects. "You know, out of everything you could have asked I'm surprised you picked the ring. I mean, you can see the bruises on the entire left half of my face, right?" Anna asks. Arwyn chuckles and gives Anna a charming shrug.

"Your brief 'a golem punched me during training' explanation to the council was enough for me." Arwyn assures, smiling kindly. "So, who's the lucky fellow?" She asks. Anna's eyebrows furrow and she gives the officer a strange look.

"Okay, I understand that you don't hear a lot about Arendelle, but surely you know I've been with Elsa for the better part of the last three years." Anna says, puzzled. Arwyn frowns, but nods.

"I know that but I didn't think . . . is that even allowed?" She asks. Anna frowns.

"We're not related." Anna replies. Arwyn shakes her head.

"No, that's not what I mean."

"Same sex marriage is legal in Arendelle." Anna says, going for the only other issue she can think of that Arwyn might be referring to. The officer hums.

"Okay, that I didn't know for sure – but I mean having the only two heirs to the kingdom marrying into a relationship that will bear the throne no children." Arwyn says.

"Ooh, that." Anna says slowly, rubbing her mouth gently. "Technically the Arendelle royal blood line died with the king and queen, but I suppose it will work the same way as them when they found out they couldn't conceive." Anna says, dropping her hand. "They adopted Elsa and I and raised us as their own, so I don't think blood lines really matter all that much – as long as your brought up the right way, trained accordingly and educated properly, you're as fit for the role as any blood heir. Granted, the rules in Arendelle still state that adoptions have to be made within the first six months of the baby's birth and grow up with the monarchs as the sole parental figures, but still – nothing about any specific bloodlines." Anna says. Arwyn in quiet for a moment, processing the information.

"So you and Elsa are going to adopt?" She finally asks. Anna shrugs.

"Eventually." The royal says, but doesn't exactly sound hell-bent on the idea. Arwyn gives her an appraising look.

"Do you not like children?" She asks. Anna laughs.

"Quite the contrary – I love children." She says, smiling. "When it comes time to adopt I'll probably beg to get, like, seven."—No one notices the amused look Elroy sends the princess—"Elsa will be rational, of course, and talk me down to _maybe_ three, but I'll convince her to get more later on – just you wait. Until then I just, well – I want to make sure I'm ready and that I'll be a parent worth having." Arwyn hums thoughtfully, but doesn't say anything else. Anna chuckles quietly. "What, you're intelligence gathering is over already? For shame." Arwyn, keeping her composure nicely, only raises an amused eyebrow.

"What makes you say that? For all you know I just want to get to know you – you are the one going to be calling the final shots, after all." She says. Anna huffs a faintly amused laugh.

"Please spare me the ruse – you think I favour Iloa considering I answered their distress call and, based on Pryne's demands, you are pretty hell bend on making these procedures as difficult as humanly possible." Anna says. A wall falls over Arwyn's features so fast that Anna is half tempted to pinch herself to see if this is real or not.

"We're only stating what we want." Arwyn states. Anna hums.

"So you want complete control over Iloa whether you do it by force or by applying high pressure over time. Good to know." Anna says. The muscle under Arwyn's eye twitches just enough for Anna to notice.

"If we didn't want harmonized peace, then why would we agree to the talks?" She asks, a dark, challenging edge to her tone that warns Anna to watch her step, but Anna refuses to be bullied.

"Because you wanted to know if it was possible to take over Iloa without losing precious military resources and countless soldiers in a battle you may not even win. By the way you're playing it, you're trying to get Iloa to either agree—getting you what you want—or to drop out of the talks first, making it go down in history that you wanted peace and they did not." Anna suddenly stops walking and grabs the front of Arwyn's tunic, pulling her close. Arwyn's eyes widen at the fire now burning in the shorter girl's eyes. "Let me get one thing straight."—Anna hisses—"I have absolutely no intention of leaving here with Iloa's or Pryne's head on the chopping block. I am going to make a peace treaty that's so beneficial for both nations that you'll be a bloody fucking fool not to accept, and you _will_ sign it. So you and your buddies can continue trying to bully Iloa into submission, but I will not allow it. See . . ." Anna leans in and presses her lips to Arwyn's ear.

"I _will_ give Pryne peace – and there's nothing you can do about it."

* * *

Thayne hums thoughtfully. "She said that, eh?" He asks, thankful he made his and Arwyn's golems to guard outside his room instead of entering. The commodore nods.

"I'm afraid so. She's taking her role quite seriously – more so than we could have anticipated." She says. Thayne waves her off.

"With relations as bad as they are and my officers following my orders to make outrageous but plausible demands, there's no way the Princess can heal this situation." Thayne says, sitting down at his desk and running his hand along the oak surface. "This is a nice place – I can't wait to stake my claim on a piece of it." Arwyn frowns.

"The princess is smart." She says, pulling her commander back on topic. "She knows the ulterior motive of Pryne and, being so close to Jasper, I wouldn't doubt if she already knows Iloa's ulterior motive as well. With that she doesn't even have to listen to what we're saying, just watch what we're doing and put the pieces together from there. At this rate she'll figure out a way of giving all of us exactly what we want while giving us nothing of our goals, and we can't exactly refuse a perfect treaty without putting` another black stain on Pryne's flag." Thayne hums thoughtfully.

"The case-fire agreement is only in effect for four days, and today is included in that. There's not enough time for her to mend bonds, make a perfect treaty and get us to sign." He says. Arwyn hisses and pinches the bridge of her nose.

"You say that,"—she says—"but she isn't scared to do want needs to be done and say what needs to be said because, unlike Iloa, she isn't scared of us in the slightest. Under any other circumstance I would commend her – hell, if she wasn't already taken even I would try to get a ring on her finger before anyone else could. My point is that she's good, and we can't afford to underestimate her." Thayne's quiet for a moment.

"If she's caught your interest then I must give her more credit than I've been allowing." He murmurs, lightly chewing on his bottom lip. "You say she likes children?" He asks. Arwyn frowns faintly.

"Yes." She says.

"That means she's likely to visit the populous at some point, right?" He asks, leading the commodore on. Arwyn pauses for a moment, thinking, before a smile slowly slides over her lips.

"I'll snag some Iloian clothing and send it off to the ship. I'm sure the crew will be anxious to get their hands dirty."

* * *

Anna storms into her room later that night and practically rips off her sword belts and chucks them across the room. She proceeds to take off her satchel and toss it carelessly onto her desk, growling in frustration as she paces the room. May and Lila take their place on either side of the door as Elsa gently closes it.

After that in the morning, the new negotiation group reconvened two times, each taking five hours and four hours, respectively. Elsa was forced to watch from the sidelines, internally cringing at how bad the situation is. At least in the Iloa-Arendelle war talks everyone in the room actually wanted peace, this is just . . . it's a shit show that she's not even sure she could deal with.

Then again, her brain is also being assaulted by waves of pain from her side from standing stock still for almost twelve hours and she's suffering from an empty stomach. Water isn't a problem, considering she can melt as much snow in her mouth as she wants, but food is definitely an issue.

_Hell, not even my vision is holding up_. Elsa thinks, blinking to try to rid herself of the blurry outlines in and around objects. _I think that blade_ may _have_ _punctured me deeper than I thought. Why didn't I get stitching? Oh yeah, right – golems don't have small enough fingers for it_. She thinks, stitching her would shut with ice instead of just freezing it, because that seriously can't be healthy.

"Can you _believe_ them?" Anna seethes, breaking Elsa from her thoughts. With her body worn, Elsa just frowns as she waits for her brain to catch up to the conversation. Before it does, Anna continues. "Pryne is ignorant and selfish and Iloa is like a whipped fucking puppy – they're giving reasonable demands because they're scared of what will happen if they ask for what they really want. I'm not saying Iloa isn't reasonable regularly, but _come on_ – no one is _that_ reasonable with a nation who is literally trying everything to take you over. Hell, even Arendelle would say 'fuck you – you just try to fucking best us', and Elsa would freeze their fleet in place and send hordes of snow golems to beat them until they submit." Anna says, growling in frustration. Elsa nods slowly, her brain still mush but thankfully functioning enough to follow the argument.

"Okay." She replies.

_Wow, Elsa – I am so impressed with your vocabulary right now_. Elsa scolds herself, internally groaning when Anna sends her a sharp look.

"'Okay'?" Anna questions heatedly. "You watched those entire proceedings and all you have to say is '_okay_'?"

"Well, I . . ." Elsa says, mentally kicking her brain to get it to work. "I don't really want to get involved." She finally says, silently praising herself for thinking of up a half-decent excuse. It should be sad that she's praising herself from something so small, but right now she doesn't have enough spare brain power to care. Anna rolls her eyes.

"Sorry to inform you, buddy – but you _are_ involved. Just being in that room makes you involved." She says, finally stopping her pacing to lean against one of the posts on her bed. She sighs and rubs her eyes. "I wish Elsa was here." She whispers. "She'd know what to do."

_Know what to do? Hell, Anna – I don't even know what's going on anymore_. Elsa thinks, already scheming to figure out how the hell she's going to find an excuse to go back to the Royal Grace to eat and change her bandages. Now, finding an excuse and actually being able to make the trip to the docks are two different things, but she'll deal with that when she gets to it.

"This is a complicated situation – I don't think Elsa would have any more luck with this than you are." Elsa says, her brain still too sluggish to fully understand what's going on. Anna sighs and sits on the edge of the bed.

"But she'd be able to stay calm and collected – maybe she'd be able to keep those bastards calm or threaten them into reason with her powers." She says. Exhaustion makes Elsa wobble slightly, but luckily it goes unnoticed by the princess.

"I don't think emotionlessness or threats would work very well here." Elsa says, barely registering what she's saying as her brain focuses solely on getting to the Royal Grace. "Pryne is a very vocal nation who reacts violently to what they don't appreciate, which would include threats. To be honest I think you're the better choice for this situation – with your battle training you can better react to Pryne's negotiation strategies—more primed for battle than a council setting—and spin things in a more favourable direction. You can use your charm to win people over and coax them back in the direction you need them to go. You have more power in this situation than Elsa would – you need to give yourself credit for that."

_That and the Elsa you're looking for isn't here, considering I'm just lucky I haven't passed out yet_. Elsa thinks, gritting her teeth to retain her composure. Anna hums thoughtfully.

"I suppose." She murmurs, her eyebrows knitting together as she no doubt mills over the problem she's forced to deal with. "Say, can you do something for me?"

"Make a trip to the Royal Grace?" Elsa asks hopefully. Anna gives her a strange look.

"No." She says, slowly. "I want you to stand guard outside my door. I wouldn't put past Pryne to try to make a move on me and, while it's true I have May and Lila, I'd rather them not enter the room at all." Elsa's heart falls.

"For the entire night?" She asks, thanking whatever gods may be for her steady voice and cursing them for her luck. Anna nods.

"From the moment I enter this room to the moment I exit it until the time that I sail away." Anna confirms. "I don't want to take any chances." She adds. Elsa barely suppresses the urge to cry.

"Do you want me to make a trip somewhere or do anything for you first?" She asks. Anna shakes her head.

"With all the maids and messengers running around here I highly doubt I'll need you for anything like that." She says.

"Please?" Elsa asks, before she can stop herself. Anna frowns.

"I . . . what? Why would you want to do things like that?" She asks, thoroughly confused. "I thought you were made with the purpose of protecting me – why would you want to leave my side in a high risk zone?"

"I just want to go to the Royal Grace." Elsa blurts, her self-control fading with the demand from her stomach combined with the ache of her side. "I . . . I just . . . I miss the ice." Elsa clumsily tries to rectify. Anna's frown deepens.

"You know you won't always be surrounded by ice and snow, not even in Arendelle." Anna says slowly, as if dealing with a stubborn child. Elsa doesn't blame her for it though – she feels like a child.

"Do I have to start the transition so soon?" Elsa asks, still trying to salvage a situation that even she has enough of mind to realize she screwed up too much to fix.

"I'm sorry, but yes." Anna says, her frown still prominent. "I'm not safe here, so you can't expect me to let the guardian golem Elsa personally made for me to wander off to do wherever they please."

"Please don't make me beg." Elsa says, knowing how clear her desperation is at this point but not finding it in her to care. Anna frowns ever deeper.

"What's going on?" She asks, standing and examining Elsa from head to toe. "I've never seen you so rattled." Her eyes flash with horror. "Has your PTSD been getting worse? If that's the case— shit." Anna swears, rubbing her temples and scowling. "This is too much for one goddamn day." She mutters.

"No, that's not it." Elsa quickly says, not wanting to add to Anna's already overwhelming concerns. "I'm just hungry." Elsa realizes her mistake the moment the words leave her mouth, but it's too late to rectify it. Anna's eyes grow as wide as saucers.

"You're . . . hungry?" She questions, utter confusion flashing across her face as she processes exactly what she just heard.

"Yes." Elsa says slowly, trying to give her brain time to think. "Hungry to stretch my legs – I've been standing still for the better part of the day." Anna's face contorts.

"Okay, firstly – that's what you're built for. Secondly, you sound suspiciously similar to someone who's trying to cover their tracks. So I'm going to ask once and only once and I expect you to be honest." Anna says, staring dead into Elsa's eyes. "What did you do?" Anna asks, her gaze practically boring into Elsa's soul. Elsa swallows thickly, trying to think of something—anything—that Anna won't immediately pin as a lie.

Then, with the worst timing Elsa could possibly imagine, a bout of dizziness takes her and she stumbles, then crumbles to the floor.

She's out cold before she feels the impact.

Anna shakes the golem as hard as she can.

"Damn it, Elroy – get up!" She hisses, panic lacing her words. "Damn it, damn it – _damn it_." Anna sputters, fear icing her blood.

Golems don't do this. Golems don't pass out. Golems don't— they don't—

Golems don't die.

Anna scrambles back until her back connects with the bed.

_The day can't end like this. Not this day. Not now – Gods, please not now_. Anna prays, tears streaming from her eyes. She tries to stop her inevitable meltdown by keeping her brain working logically.

_He was coming apart at the seams from the moment I met him_. She thinks, trying to control her breathing. _Elsa did something wrong – made a crack in his foundations that slowly continued to spread until it tore him apart_.

This isn't making it any better.

Anna begins to rock, clenching her jaw to keep from sobbing.

"You're not dead." She chokes. She buries her hands in her bangs and grips them tightly, missing the flash of alarm in her tiger's eyes. "You're not dead." She sobs, desperately trying to keep herself together. Lila nudges Anna's side. "Not now." Anna grits, but Lila doesn't let up. Anna eventually whips on the animal now laying beside her. "What?" She demands. "What could you possibly want from me?" Angry spittle flies from Anna's mouth, but Lila merely nods towards Elroy. Anna sneers but follows the cue nonetheless. She frowns when all she sees May's back and hears the sound of ice scratching ice.

When May moves out of the way, Anna's breath hitches.

Scratched onto Elroy's chest plate is; 'This is Elsa'.

"She was hungry." Anna breathes, repeating Elroy's— Elsa's words. Anna slaps her forehead, not believing how much of an idiot she's been. "Damn it, I—" Anna pales as a realization hits her. "I stabbed her." She whispers, her eyes growing wide with horror. "She's been standing and obeying my every command without hitch even after I _stabbed her_." The pieces start clicking into place. She turns to her tigers. "The way you two acted when we first met 'Elroy' – you knew exactly who she was without her saying anything of the like, meaning it's an unconscious connection you have with her – meaning the other golems would know who she is." Anna says, turning to Elroy, well – Elsa in Elroy's form, technically. "Along with that she controls ice, meaning she could have easily hid supplies within the walls so . . . oh Gods." Anna breathes, covering her mouth with a hand. "You wanted to get medical attention and eat." She says, her throat clenching painfully at the words.

Gods _damn it_ – how could she be so fucking _stupid?_

"I'll help you." Anna whispers, crawling up to Elsa's Elroy form. "Just wake up and I'll help you." She soothes. She sees May shake her head violently and frowns. Why would May—

Oh. They don't want Elsa to know that she knows.

"If you kept this secret there must of been a reason for it." Anna whispers, chewing on her bottom lip in thought. "Okay."—She murmurs—"let's play it your way." She turns to Lila. "Go grab a golem and bring them here. I need to send orders to the medical golems to get their asses on shore, maybe conveniently bringing a store of mixed supplies with them."


	7. Peace, Death or Compromise - Part 1

**A/N:** Semi-Graphic Violence and disturbing content in this chapter.

* * *

Anna lets out a slow, controlled breath as Jasper and his guardian Moira—the last two in the room—finally leave. Sighing, Anna rubs her temples gently.

It's noon of the third day of the talks, and she is no closer to a solution than she was before. In fact, tension is running so high that Anna had to cancel one of the three meetings they always have and shortened the length of the one she still has to deal with so no one starts jumping over the tables and starts punching each other in the face.

_I only have a day and a half before that cease-fire contract runs out, and if I don't get this shit together I'm going to have to suffer through another gruelling war_. Anna thinks, gritting her teeth. She pinches the bridge of her nose. Hard.

"Are you okay?" Elroy asks, stepping away from his spot at the wall.

"Fine." Anna sighs, refusing to look at him.

Ever since she figured out who Elroy really is, she finds herself avoiding eye contact and unnecessary conversation whenever she can. She knows the poor 'golem' thinks it's because of the fainting episode two days ago and that Anna is angry with 'him', but Anna can't exactly say otherwise, can she? She's been barely been able to keep calling the golem Elroy instead of Elsa, and the more she interacts with _him_, the harder she finds it to keep the two identities straight. So, to avoid the hassle and keep Elsa a secret, Anna finds herself avoiding the masked queen altogether. Well, as much as she can, at any rate.

Without looking up, Anna motions for Elroy to leave.

"Go to my room and get the medical golems to look at you." Anna orders. Elroy frowns.

"But they said—"

"I don't care what they said." Anna snaps, cutting Els— _Elroy_ off. "I don't want to risk you collapsing again, because who knows where it'll be next time? I would rather not have you around for short periods of time then have you as a useless lump on the floor." Anna can practically feel the golem's shoulders slump, and she knows her words came harsher than she intended.

"I'm sorry." The deep, rumbling voice of Elroy whispers. His voice stabs at her heart strings and she sighs, finally looking up to meet his regretful eyes.

"I'm just worried about you." Anna says soothingly. "I'm sorry for being harsh, the meeting took a lot out of me." She stands and stretches, groaning as the vertebrae in her spine pop. "I need a vacation." She mutters, fisting the knots in her lower back. She glances up to Elroy, who still looks reluctant to leave. Anna smiles. "I'm just going to pack up my stuff and stealthily avoid people on a quest for food, so don't worry – I'll be fine, and I'll be sure to grab you before I head back here for round two." Elroy still hesitates, but he nods nonetheless.

"Okay." He concedes. "I'll wait for you in your room." He says, turning heel and leaving. Anna hums when the door closes behind him.

"How you can function flawlessly with a gaping wound in your side is bloody mystery." Anna murmurs, collecting her stack of papers—the huge collection of notes she's been taking over the past two and a half days—and puts them in her satchel. Latching it shut, she slings the strap over her shoulder and waves for her tigers to follow her as she walks for the door.

When she opens it, the Iloa queen and her snowy guardian are waiting for her.

"Well, so much for being going unnoticed." She murmurs, half debating simply running away and pretending she didn't see her.

_Considering she's literally three paces in front of you, I think that excuse will fall flat_. Anna's internal voice drawls sarcastically. The queen smiles as Anna steps into the hallway, bowing her head politely.

"You're highness,"—the queen says—"it's a pleasure to finally meet you in person." Anna smiles awkwardly and rubs the back of her neck.

"Yeah – sorry about that, your grace. It must have been strange for you and your children to get golems assigned to you without ever meeting someone from Arendelle." She says. One of the golems standing guard at the negotiation room doors hands Anna her weapons. She secures them to her waist as the queen chuckles softly.

"It's okay – I understand." She says. She glances pointedly to the door behind Anna. "You've had a lot to deal with." Anna's face falls at the reminder. The queen's smile becomes strained. "So it's as I feared." She whispers. Anna frowns.

"Peace may be allusive, but that doesn't mean it's impossible to catch." Anna replies, trying to sooth the queen's worry. The princess gives the woman a lopsided smile. "It's going to take Pryne more than giving me a splintering headache to keep me from drawing up a treaty everyone will be willing to sign." The queen smiles gratefully, but there's a weariness to it that Anna is pained to see.

"You only have until tomorrow afternoon, you know." She says, as if already accepting the worst. Anna takes a step forward and gently cups her hands around the sides of the queen's neck. She knows it isn't proper etiquette to touch other nobility so intimately without permission, but she never did follow rules very well.

"Everything's going to be fine." Anna whispers softly. "I have plenty of time to come up with a solution and, if the worst arises and I can't prevent hostiles I . . . I have precautionary measures in place." Anna says, unable to completely suppress her resultant wince. The queen frowns.

"Why don't you sound very thrilled about it?" The queen asks, caution lacing her tone.

Because it means mobilizing all her golems and possibly using the cannons in the Royal Grace. It means slaughtering the Pryne officers before they leave the castle in order to cripple their fleet's chain of command right before Iloa strikes. It means fortifying the city with snow golems and killing countless enemy soldiers to save the Iloa population. It means being entrenched in war that will last months or years and lead to immeasurable death.

It means the end to Anna's sanity.

Despite her dark thoughts, Anna only frowns faintly. "I'm not thrilled about any alternative to peace, honestly." She says, worrying her bottom lip. The queen gives her a weary smile.

"Sometimes there's no other choice." The queen says, trying to lay it to the young princess gently. "I think,"—the queen continues, ever cautious—"you may have to accept the fact that there's nothing you can do." Anna instantly jerks her hands away from the woman and steps back, as if she's been burnt. She narrows her eyes at the queen.

"No." Anna grits. "There's always something – I just have to find it." The queen's eyebrows draw together sadly.

"Princess—"

"No." Anna growls. "Peace _will_ be had – and I will give it to you by the end of tomorrow." She says, turning heel. "Until next time, your grace." Without waiting for a reply, Anna walks away. "They're all crazy fucking bastards, aren't they?" Anna whispers, glaring at the span of hallway in front of her. Lila growls softly in her throat in the affirmative. Anna sighs and rubs her eyes gently. "Stubborn fools."

* * *

Elsa grunts as the shorter male medical golem gently removes the last of her bandaging and takes a look at her wound. He hums in indecision.

"You're getting better." He says, moving to grab some salve. "But you know it would be healing a lot faster if you allowed yourself to rest."

"Yeah, I know." Elsa breathes, trying to focus on anything other than the paste being rubbed into her wound. "I'd just rather deal with this; it . . . it hurts far less than loosing Anna ever could." The taller female medical golem returns from the small pile of supplies in the corner with new bandages and a small tray of food.

"This might be a strange thing to ask,"—the golem starts, handing the tray to Elsa—"but the conversation is morbid enough to allow it."

"Lovely." Elsa drawls, taking a bite of dried meat. The golem ignores the interruption.

"Once you die—whenever that may be—what happens to us?" She asks. Elsa's eyes widen in surprise.

"I . . . I don't— why do you ask?"

The golem shrugs. "With everything that's been happening it's been on my mind a lot. I mean, I know us snow creatures all have our own consciousnesses, but we also have an unyielding connection with you that we can always feel no matter how far away you are. What will happen to us once that connection is gone?" She asks. Elsa sucks on her bottom lip in thought.

"Well,"—Elsa starts, slowly—"you also have a connection with all the other snow creatures, but that doesn't mean you share the same fate as them when they parish."

"If a twin baby dies in the womb it doesn't mean the other will share it's fate." The golem rebuttals. "But if the mother dies with them still inside of her, the unborn children go with her."

"If the pregnancy is far enough along the children can be cut out and they'll survive." Elsa throws back.

"This conversation isn't unsettling at all." The male golem murmurs, just finishing with replacing Elsa's bandages.

"It'd be a hard transition." The female golem responds, ignoring the other golem's comment.

"Hard but manageable." Elsa says, smiling gently. "I have no doubt that my eventual death will leave a hole in all of you, but it's the same as anyone dealing with the death of a loved one. It'll be hard, sure, but you'll survive – because my death doesn't automatically demand yours." The golem shifts uncomfortably.

"Will it . . . change us?" She asks. Elsa's smile softens to something more reassuring.

"No one can force you to be something you don't want to be – not even me. If you recall, I've never had any power over what any of you feel or do. Sure you follow my orders, but you're doing it willingly – not because I'm personally controlling your movements. I honestly don't see how my death would change that." Elsa soothes, shrugging gently. The golem rubs the back of her neck, thinking. After a moment, she nods.

"Okay." She relents. Elsa's smile broadens.

"Good." Elsa says, turning back to her meal. Between mouthfuls she says; "thank you guys for bringing this stuff – I wasn't doing so well fending for myself." The shorter golem chuckles.

"It's to be expected considering the big gaping hole in your side ribs." He says, grinning. Elsa rolls her eyes, opting not to answer in preference of eating. The golem continues. "You should really rest before the next negotiation bout, too. You might only have a little under an hour, but it'll do you a lot of good." Elsa frowns slightly and swallows the food in her mouth.

"Where do you suppose I do that?" She asks. The golem gives her a funny look.

"On the bed." He states, as if it were obvious. Elsa's eyebrows fall into an unamused line.

"If I sleep on the bed my scent will rub off on the blankets and pillows." Elsa says, very much in the same tone as the golem.

"Anna's going to be in a meeting for a couple of hours after your done, giving us plenty of time to get some maids in to change the bedding." The golem replies, raising a challenging eyebrow. Elsa pauses, processing the logic. When it sinks in, she glowers at the golem, who only grins in response and takes her now empty tray away from her. "Get to sleeping." He says, gesturing to the bed. "We'll wake you before Anna returns."

* * *

To Anna's dismay, avoiding people in the huge castle is virtually impossible. On the way to the kitchen she was cornered by four people—including the queen—on her way back from the kitchen she was cornered by two people, and on her get-away back to her room she ran away from three people.

Now she's practically sprinting down the hallway, her food safely tucked under her arm and her satchel held from bouncing around with the other. She knows she probably looks like a maniac, but she could really care less as long as she's safe from people ambushing her.

Needless to say, she arrived back in her room a full half an hour sooner than she originally intended.

Anna huffs as she slams the door shut behind her and pushes her back up flush against it, not even caring that she left her two tigers in the hallway. They're the ones who guard outside the door at night, anyway.

The two medical golems freeze and stare at her, then slowly turn to stare at the lump curled under the sheets of Anna's bed. Anna's heart flutters and leaps.

Rushing to the desk and dropping her food and satchel on it, she bounds over to the bed and carefully hovers over Elsa's sleeping form.

This is the first time she's seen the older girl's face in two and a half weeks.

"Hey beautiful." Anna whispers, cautiously sitting on the edge of the bed and moving a stray piece of hair out of Elsa's eyes. Anna smiles gently, tears welling in her eyes. One of the golems gently takes Anna by the shoulders and coaxes her away from the bed and sits her at the chair of her desk. The golem—the taller female one—goes down on one knee and smiles apologetically.

"I'm sorry, but we can't risk you waking her up." She says, her voice a soft, low hum. The shorter golem, off to the side of the room, shrugs.

"With the demand of her wound and the toll it's taking on her, I doubt we'll be able to wake her up if we basted a trumpet in her ear." He says. The female golem frowns and turns to him.

"Wait, you told her to sleep and that we'd wake her up when it's time for the next meeting without any intention of actually waking her up?" She asks, accusing. The other golem merely shrugs again.

"We have the right supplies with us to create a concoction that'd wake her up, I was just hoping I wouldn't have to." He says, turning pointedly to Anna. She gives a little squeak at the sudden attention.

"Me? You want me to decide whether you wake her or not?" She asks. The golem nods.

"You're the only one who can say whether or not Elroy's absence will be missed in the proceedings. If it will be, then I'll wake her up; if it won't be, then I'll let her sleep." He says, giving Elsa a sorrowful side glance. "The Heavens knows she needs it." He whispers, barely loud enough for Anna to catch it, but she does. She glances to Elsa and sucks on her bottom lip gently.

"Aw hell." Anna sighs, rubbing her eyes gently. "I wouldn't have the heart to wake her up even if she was needed at the proceedings, not with what you've told me of her condition."

"She's not as bad as this numpty lets on." The female golem says, jerking her thumb at the shorter golem who, for his part, just shrugs again.

"She has a big open wound in her side that broke through her ribs. Ribs, might I add, that are only snapped back in place because Elsa used her magic to reset them. In fact, the entire reason her condition isn't critical—let alone allowing her to be functional—is because her magic is literally holding her together. So no, her state of being isn't as bad as I might have let on when I first explained everything to you, but it's not all sunshine and butterflies, either." He says, giving his medical partner a pointed look. This time she shrugs.

"She's still not as bad as you let on." The golem says, in a tone Elsa often uses when Anna talks herself in a hole and proves Elsa's point without meaning to. Anna chuckles softly.

"Give it a rest guys, I get it." Anna drawls, a playful twinkle in her eyes as she turns to her food and digs in.

* * *

Elsa's mind is fuzzy when she finally wakes from her sleeping stupor. If she's honest with herself she can admit that she's still tired, but she definitely feels better than she did before she lied down.

_Plus it's so soft and warm_. Elsa thinks, purring as she snuggles deeper into the blankets.

It only starts to register that something isn't right when she realizes her eyelids aren't being assaulted by blinding light the midday sun would demand.

Elsa blinks her eyes open, only to see that there's no light at all except that of what she assumes is a sole lantern. Frowning, Elsa carefully rolls off her right side onto her back—not wanting to aggravate the wound on her left side—and turns her head to look at the desk.

Anna—with an edgy expression, narrow eyes, knotted shoulders and a tense jaw—is intently pouring her efforts into whatever she's working on. She's so focused on it, in fact, that she seems completely obvious that Elsa's awake.

Anna hisses and pinches the bridge of her nose with her spare hand. Hard. Elsa frowns.

_Why does it look like she's fighting a mild wave of PTSD instead of dealing with a peace treaty?_ She wonders. When she glances to the bruises on the left side of Anna's face—the only side she can see from both their positions—her frown deepens. _Has the bruising gotten worse? How is that possible?_

She is broken from this train of thought, however, when she grasps a more pressing concern.

Why is she and Anna in the same room when Elsa isn't in disguise?

Elsa's eyebrows knit together in confusion, stilling her oncoming panic as she eyes the younger girl carefully.

_She doesn't have any trace of anxiety related to me, she isn't hovering by my side, but, most of all, she doesn't seem overly concerned about waiting for me to wake up_. Elsa thinks, sighing as the obvious conclusion settles over her.

"How long have you known?" She asks. Anna jumps, startled, and looks around the room with wild, alarmed eyes. Elsa's eyes widen and she holds out her hands in a pacifying motion. "Whoa there, it's just me." Elsa says, trying to calm the girl. Anna stares at her for a full three seconds, a frown tugging at her lips, until her brain processes the situation. Nodding slightly, Anna gives Elsa a tense, apologetic smile.

"Sorry – I'm a little unnerved at the moment. How are you feeling?" She asks. There's a distinct distant note in Anna's voice makes Elsa frown, but she chooses not to address it.

"Better than before." Elsa allows, before changing the topic back to her original question; "how long have you known?" Anna's eyebrows knit together in confusion and she frowns, not quite understanding the question for a couple awkward beats. When she does, she gives the same tight, apologetic smile.

"Sorry – my brain's in a million places right now." She apologies again. She shrugs. "I've known ever since you fainted on the first night here. May wrote; 'this is Elsa' on your breastplate so I wouldn't spiral into a breakdown." Anna says, but Elsa can tell her heart isn't exactly in the conversation.

If Anna is troubled to the point where she's not even engaging in proper conversation with her, something is definitely wrong. Elsa voices this concern with:

"What happened?" She asks. At the reminder, Anna stiffens and her jaw clenches painfully. Elsa observes the change in alarm and props herself up on her elbows. "Anna, what happened?" She presses. Anna's jaw clenches tighter; she tries to smile, but it comes out more as a painful grimace.

"A lot." Anna strains, literally forcing out the words. She squeezes her eyes shut and roughly rubs her temples. "There's been . . . some unfortunate incidents. There's also been something of a breakthrough with the peace treaty, too, but it comes a little too late to provide much comfort." Elsa frowns. Exactly how much has she missed?

"How long have I been asleep?" Elsa asks, a pool of dread welling in her stomach. Anna's face contorts, her mouth moving silently with mental calculations.

"Nine or ten hours, maybe?" Anna suggests, frowning as she tries to confirm the numbers in her head. "Yeah,"—she says, but doesn't sound overly certain about them—"about that amount."

"Anna!" Elsa scolds, throwing off the blankets and pushing into a seated position, one hand cradling her wound. "Why didn't you wake me? I— damn it! I came here to help you, not sleep through the time when you actually need me!" Elsa sneers, but her tone drips with so much worry that her angry façade only makes Anna smile sadly.

"Sorry."—She says again, her voice way too soft for Elsa's liking—"I didn't have the heart to wake you. Besides, with your wound you wouldn't have been able to help me that much anyway, not without using your powers and exposing yourself."

With the pit of dread growing in her stomach, Elsa looks around the room for any hint of what happened.

Her eyes land on a discarded pile of clothes. She can't see much from the light of the sole lamp in the room, but she can make out enough to see a pair of formal breeches with one leg mostly cut off. Her heart sinks when she notices a dark stain on the remaining section of the pant leg.

"Anna,"—she says slowly as she turns back to face the girl—"let me see your leg." Anna stiffens instantly, but she forces a smile and tries to play it off.

"Only one? Kinky. Do you have a preference?" She jokes. Elsa narrows her eyes.

"My preference is to see the leg you don't want to show me." Elsa bites. She doesn't mean for her tone to be as sharp as it is—especially when Anna winces—but her fraying nerves are getting the better of her.

"I'd rather not." Anna says. The girl raises her hands to stop Elsa's coming argument. "Not because I don't want you to see it,"—the girl assures—"it's just painful to move my leg right now. Hell, I had to get the medical golems to help me change out of my breeches in order to get these on." Anna says, pulling at the loose, ice-blue trousers she's currently wearing. Elsa nods slowly in understanding.

"Okay." She allows, much to Anna's relief. "Then just tell me what happened." Anna stiffens again. She shifts uncomfortably, trying to think of a way to get out of this, before simply sighing in defeat.

"Someone stabbed me."

One second. Two seconds. Three seconds.

"_What?_"

Anna winces at Elsa's tone.

"Yeah." Anna confirms hesitantly. "The action cost him his hand, though." She says, wincing at the memory. Elsa's eyebrows furrow in confusion.

"Attacking a royal is an immediate death sentence, so why would anyone— wait, did you . . .?" Elsa leaves the question open, but Anna flinches anyway.

"Not intentionally?" The girl provides weakly, looking anywhere in the room to get reprieve from Elsa's piercing gaze. Elsa's eyes soften at the sight and she offers the girl a weak smile.

"Why don't you start at the beginning?" Elsa suggests, giving the court completely over to Anna. Anna nods slightly, uneasily, and clears her throat awkwardly.

"Well,"—she starts—"I guess it all really started after I left the second negotiation meeting."

* * *

Five hours prior.

When Anna gets out of the next meeting—nearly four and a half hours after she left Elsa sleeping in her bed—she's frustrated enough to kick random strangers in the face. Not being able to walk around the castle without being accosted by anyone who thinks their anyone isn't helping, either. So, after ranting to a couple of patrol golems, she decided she wouldn't be able to get any work done—or do anything productive, really—until she calms down.

After determining that that meant getting out of the castle, she fled to the stables and left the castle grounds.

Now, in her fancy ice-blue formal-wear—sleeves rolled up past her elbows like always—and riding gloves, she trots astride Leo into the city. She hums in appreciation.

"Did I tell you how much I miss you?" She asks, grinning when Leo holds his head up with pride and whinnies. She absently looks up to the semi-heavy blizzard falling above her head, frantically settling on her hair and shoulders. "Nice to have a reprieve from the heat, as well." She murmurs, more as an afterthought than anything else.

While it's true that Anna has mostly had to adapt to the temperatures, it would be a blatant lie if she said she was used to it. Hell, half the time she's surrounded by enough golems—and her tigers—that the temperature around her is always seven degrees cooler than it's actually suppose to be, anyway.

However, going outside in the direct sunlight—that is still over three hours from setting—is a story all on its own. Sure she still has her three main snow creatures, but that doesn't necessarily help her if she decides to be her normal self and start running around and acting like, well, Anna.

_Though that might be a difficult option_. Anna thinks as she enters the more populated area of the city, watching as the crowd splits as if struck by a whip when they notice Anna approaching. I_t might also have to do with the fact that I'm riding a massive snow warhorse with ice armour and that I'm flanked by two icy tigers that are almost as tall as me_. Anna contemplates, humming softly.

When she reaches the main square—a humongous area milling with people—she dismounts and motions for Leo to follow her, but remain a moderate distance behind her. The crowd still splits as if she were soaked in poison, but thankfully it's a little less prominent then it was before.

Anna pauses when she sees a little boy, with no parents in sight, staring at her in complete and utter fascination near one of the market stalls. Sending him a dazzling smile, she turns heel and walks towards him. His face falls into undeniable fright, but when Anna kneels down not two meters in front of him—her snow creatures legging behind to make her less intimidating—and smiles reassuringly, his enthralment reappears with a new vigour. When Anna opens her arms for a hug, the boy gives her a toothy grin and runs at her – practically throwing himself into her arms. With a joyful laugh, Anna wraps the boy in her arms.

"Why hello, dear sir." Anna says, a playful lilt in her voice as she draws herself away from the small boy. "I wasn't expecting to meet someone so handsome on this outing – the surprise of our acquaintance has dazzled me and I simply had to meet you. I am Princess Anna, valiant knight of justice, at your service." Anna places a hand over her heart and bows as much as she can in her kneeling position. "May I inquire and ask of you your name, good sir?" She asks, raising from her bow. She barely keeps herself from grinning at the astonished, wide-eyed look on the little boy's face. Seemingly unable to control himself, he squeals and bounces on the balls of his feet.

"Max." He says, grinning from ear to ear. Almost as an afterthought, he drops into his impression of a courtly bow. Anna has to bite her lip to keep from giggling.

"Well, my liege, it is an honour to finally make your acquaintance." Anna says, smiling broadly. She leans in and whispers conspiratorially; "what do you say about blowing this formal necessity and playing tag, instead?" She leans back and wriggles her eyebrows. The boy gasps excitedly and shakes his hands, expelling his overflowing excess energy.

"Really?" He asks. Anna can practically see his excitement fluttering in his chest. She grins.

"Really really. So how about you grab all your friends that are here in the square and meet me back here in ten?" She asks. She barely has time to register his sharp nod before he's bounding away. Chuckling quietly to herself, Anna shakes her head and stands, pulling off her gloves and stuffing them into her pockets.

"You don't have to do that you know, your highness."

Anna frowns and turns to the woman manning the stall the boy had been standing close to. Anna tilts her head curiously and walks closer to the stall.

"What'd you mean?" Anna asks. The woman, not expecting Anna's complete and full attention, startles slightly and bows her head.

"Pardon my frankness, your highness, I didn't mean—"

Anna waves off her concern. "If someone's willing to give something to be straight instead of trying to talk me in circles it'll be a welcome relief." She says, chuckling at her own dry joke. "So come on then – tell me what you wanted to say." The woman stares at Anna with a bemused expression. When she makes no move to speak further, Anna laughs. "I swear I'm nice – I might growl a little bit, but unless you literally try to punch me in the face I won't bite. Promise." Anna gives the woman a disarming smile. The woman, bashful, rubs the back of her neck.

"Well, your highness,"—she starts, slowly—"I just meant that you don't have to try to win our favour by talking to us – I'm sure you have better things to do." An amused light sparkles in Anna's eyes.

"Is that what you think I'm doing?" She teases, twitching a soft smile. "For your information I happen to love conversing with common folk and playing with children. Beats the hell out of dealing with boring nobility with speech so stilted and manipulative you just want to shove their head underwater and shake them." Anna mimics the action loosely with her hands, then blinks. "Huh." She hums, scratching her jaw. "Probably not the best thing to admit, considering the circumstances." She murmurs. For her part, the woman just chuckles and smiles broadly.

"It's what we all think – you just have the guts to admit it, your highness." The woman says. Anna grins.

"Aye, but I have to be responsible, remember." She says, winking to show how little she believes in the statement. "Now,"—she continues, starting to unbutton her formal tunic—"I need to be getting ready to run around before Max and the other little ones return." The woman's eye flash in surprise, as if not truly believing Anna was actually going to follow up on her word. Anna sees the look and grins. "All children dream of nobility, so who am I to deny them a dream come true?" She says, shrugging lightheartedly. "Everyone deserves a happy fantasy or two to come to life, and if I can help fulfil some of those then by the Gods I will." The woman stares at Anna, speechless, simply watching as Anna shrugs off her tunic—leaving her with a ice-blue tank top overtop of her bound chest—and throws it over Leo's back. The woman barely keeps herself from staring at Anna's rippling, toned muscles.

"You truly are something, aren't you?" The woman breathes, clearly meaning to go unheard. Anna, hearing nonetheless—but interpreting it differently then how it was intended—smiles gently and turns back to the woman.

"We all may have different roles in society, but if someone deserves respect I'm going to give it to them no matter the status they've been given, because your station doesn't define you. Sure it's a big part, but it's up to you whether you let it get to your head or not." Anna raps her knuckles lightly against her skull and chuckles. "That's why I like conversing with the populous so much; you're real and you just . . . are. A lot of nobility have forgotten how to be like that, if they ever knew at all." At the strange look the woman gives her, Anna laughs lightly. "Sorry – I didn't mean to go all saintly on you. Please forgive my intrusion." Anna says, bowing politely from the shoulders.

"No, no – please don't bow, your highness." The woman says, desperately. Anna quirks an eyebrow and straightens, giving the woman a faintly amused look.

"I don't see why I shouldn't." Anna teases, a smile twitching at the corners of her lips.

"Because you're a princess." The woman snaps, harsher then she intends. Her eyes widen and she bows. "I'm so sorry, your highness, I didn't mean to snap at you." A frown tugs at Anna's lips.

"I was adopted by the king and queen of Arendelle." Anna says slowly, watching the woman's reactions carefully. "I could have just as easily been tending to stalls or be a servant to a noble." She shrugs helplessly. "I was lucky, and I'll be damned if I don't share my good fortune with the people who deserve it." She glances in the direction Max had run off to. "Children are the obvious recipients,"—she turns to the woman, giving her a pointed look—"but that doesn't discard adults." Anna sends the woman an charming smile. "Give yourself more credi— oof!"

Anna grunts and stumbles as a small crowd of children literally barrel into her legs and latch themselves to her. The woman behind the stall bursts into laughter.

"I'll let you go – it seems to have your hands full." The woman says, trying to cover her humour and failing miserably. Anna sends her an amused smirk. The children, chattering away, start tugging on her pant legs and hands to get her attention. Laughing, Anna kneels down. The children, bouncing with excitement, instantly form a semi-circle around her.

"Okay, this is our plan of action."—Anna says, in an exaggerated battle strategy tone—"We're going to be playing an epic game of tag. The rules are simple; no violence and the playing area is this square _only_ – if you go out of bounds you're out of the game until you re-enter the field. Is this clear?" She asks. The children nod, most letting out a chorus of 'yes's' while the others simply cheer eagerly. Suppressing a giggle, Anna gestures to the center of the square. "We're going to take our game to the fountain to get us away from the stalls. The moment we get there, I'm going to select who's it and we're going to run around and have fun, okay?" Again, a chorus of cheers and agreement. Anna grins. "To the fountain!" She declares, laughing when the children literally start sprinting away from her, fervent to get the game underway. Standing—pulling her gloves out of her pockets and slipping them on—Anna winks playfully at the woman behind the stall before turning heel and following the children.

The crowd is already murmuring among themselves at the sight of the collection of children, and it only grows heavier when Anna joins their ranks. Anna, used to massive amounts of attention drawn her way, pays the crowd no mind as she stops in front of the two dozen children.

"Okay."—Anna calls over their noise—"The player who will be it first is . . ." Anna looks at the anxious, eager faces with exaggerated suspense. When she feels a good time has passed, she shouts; "Max!"

She's unable to stop her laugh of delight when the children split, squealing in excitement. It distracts her so much that she forgets to run herself, until she feels a swat on her arm and hears:

"You're it!"

Anna gapes at Max as he runs away from her, but it's soon replaced by a mischievous smirk. She raises her arms up, her fingers curled like claws, and she bounds forward in a strange side-to-side run as she starts chasing the children.

"I'm it! Om nom nom!" She calls, in an odd growl-like roar that the kids eat up like candy – instantly squealing and bolting in all different directions.

Soon enough the game becomes so popular that the crowd literally hovers around the outskirts of the square—leaving the entire center free—so they can watch the proceedings without getting involved. Yes, admittedly the game had lead to Anna and some of the kid smocking into people, but that was also part of the reason the news of the game spread so quickly and the center of the square was cleared, so Anna doesn't care. Sometime during this mix Lila, May and Leo settled themselves around the fountain, and somewhere in that time Anna removed her sword belts and draped them over Leo's back. The last thing she wants is one of the sheathes spinning and slamming into the face of one of the kids. That'd be sure to leave an everlasting impression.

"Oh no, the mighty guardian has been hit!" Anna cries, with over the top theatrics that she knows the children love. "Why do you strike me so, dear knight?" She falls to a knee, pretending to be felled. "By my heart and soul, I— got ya! Ah ha!" Anna says, recovering from her lunge at a nearby child and rolling to her feet, sprinting away when the child tries to get her back. Anna gives a hearty laugh and wipes the sweat from her face with the back of her gloved hands.

By now the game has been going on for nearly a half an hour, and between the heat, running around and not having her snow creatures at her side to keep her cool, she's nearly overheating.

Well, that's what she gets for thinking it's a grand idea to play under the hot sun.

One of the children scream. Anna's ears prick. That wasn't a scream appropriate for fun and games. A bad feeling immediately washes over Anna and she starts looking around the square, dread welling in the pit of her stomach.

"Everyone come here! Quickly now!" Anna says in a forced cheer to not frighten the children. She knows the adults probably see right through her—considering most of them look concerned as well—but the kids are none the wiser. Anna grins when all the children in the square are encircling her with eager eyes. It makes her heart fall all the more. "Okay, we're going to—" Anna stops herself, frowning as she looks around at all the children's faces. "Where's Max?" She asks. The children look around, but shrug – unbeknownst to the danger and therefore unconcerned with his absence. Anna pales. "Stay here." She commands, walking out of the circle of children and scanning the crowd. "Max?" She calls, continuing to look around. When no answer comes she grits her teeth. "Max!"

What she sees next makes her blood run cold.

Max, lifted up and held tightly to a man's chest as they exit the crowd, has a slice on his cheek—running blood down his jaw and neck—a broken wrist and a dagger held tightly against his throat.

Without taking her eyes from Max, she waves her hands at her snow creatures. "May, Lila – protect the kids. Kids – stay exactly where you are and, whatever happens, _do not move_, do you understand me?" She barely registers their confused murmurs as she raises her hands in a pacifying motion and takes a tentative step towards Max and his assailant. "Tell me what you want." Anna says, progressing with her slow advance. The man laughs harshly and presses the dagger tighter to Max's throat, enough to draw blood.

"Unless you want me to kill this boy I suggest you don't take another step." The man threatens. Anna freezes instantly. An oily smile spreads across the man's lips. "Pretty _and_ obedient, wonderful."

"Please help me." Max sobs, tears streaking down his cheeks—mingling with the blood—and his broken wrist gently cradled against his abdomen. Anna's eyes mist and she grits her teeth.

"I am, Max, don't worry – everything is going to be okay soon. I promise." Anna says, in the gentlest voice she can muster. The man cackles loudly, then gives Anna the cruelest smirk she has ever seen. It turns her stomach.

"It's not good practice to make a promise you can't keep." He says. He pulls the dagger away and flips the blade inward, preparing to plunge it into the boy's heart. His arm flexes.

"_No!_" Anna screams, taking an involuntary step forward and reaching for the boy, even though he's a good four meters away from her. Lila and May's eyes flash and they turn to the man, roaring as loud as they can and getting ready to dash at him and tear him apart. Anna whips back on the beasts and holds her hands out for them to stop. She knows that their real goal with the roar was alerting the Royal Grace, but they also look just as likely to sink their teeth into the man's flesh and tear him limb from limb. "Hold!" She shouts, turning sideways and showing one halt hand to her tigers and one to the man holding Max. "Everyone hold it! No one is getting slaughtered today, alright? So just tell me what you want so everyone can get out of this alive."

The man stares at Anna for a long moment before his eyes flicker to the humongous tigers who look like they're a hair away from lunging at him. His jaw bulges and his hardened gaze shifts back to Anna.

"You and your beast are non-combatants – you aren't allowed to hurt me even if you wanted to." The man says, sneering. Anna sends the man the darkest look she ever given.

"Do you think I give a shit about technicality when a young innocent life hangs in the balance?" She growls, spittle flying from her mouth. "If it means I have to sever your head from your shoulders or get my protectors to maul you to death to save this boy's life then that is what I'll do; so don't think you have more leverage then you do because, if it comes down to it, I _will_ kill you." She spits, venom dripping from her words much like salvia dripping from a growling wolf's mouth. The man barks a laugh, but Anna can hear the trembling quality to it.

"Well,"—the man says, his voice laced with forced amusement—"if you want to take me out you're going to have to go through my friends, too." On cue, eleven men step out of the crowd behind the man, flexing their muscles, cracking their knuckles and flaunting their weapons if they have one.

_They're soldiers_. Anna observes, a frown tugging at the corners of her lips. She glances back to the child. _The man chose to grab a child and no one else, so they had to of known I have a soft spot for children_. Anna's eyes narrow darkly, and she scowls. _Arwyn was the only one I told, meaning these bastards are from Pryne_.

"If they want to share in whatever miserable fate you've designed for them, then I am more than happy to oblige in helping them meet their end." Anna snarls, much to the shock of the men. A cruel, remorseless smile spreads over Anna's lips and she chuckles darkly. "I suggest you give me your demands and make them reasonable, least you meet some untimely fates." When she sees doubt in the main man's eyes, Anna's smirk grows wider. "My words are not threats – they're a promise. So you better speak up and you better do it fast." No one seems to notice Leo slipping away into the crowd.

The main man's jaw muscles bulge and he glowers at the princess. "You think you and two piles of snow can take twelve highly trained men in enclosed combat?"

_Without my weapons? No, not really. Besides, fighting a mass of soldiers solo was Elsa's specialty, not mine._

"Just twelve?" Anna says, ignoring her thoughts and barking a laugh. "You've obviously underestimated my fighting abilities." The man stares at Anna for a long moment before he reluctantly accepts Anna's words as the truth.

"We want you to leave Iloa and immediately sail back to Arendelle." The man states. The crowd gasps and starts murmuring to each other. Anna clenches her jaw and her eyes harden.

"You know very well that I'm under contract – if I try to leave now Iloa has the legal right to cut trade with Arendelle and declare war on us." Anna says, trying her best to stall for time. How long will it take for the Royal Grace golem reinforcement to arrive? Did they hear Lila and May's call at all? The man barks a laugh.

"I think we have more pressing issues than Arendelle with Pryne ready to hack us to bits." He says.

Wait, what?

_They're pretending to be Iloian to pull the attention from Pryne_. Anna thinks, scowling – but the soldier isn't done.

"All you're here for is to make sure whatever happens is profitable for Arendelle – you don't care about what happens to Iloa. For all we know you could be forcing the king's hand to sign over the kingdom." He shouts. The crowd's murmuring grows louder. Anna grits her teeth and glares at the man.

"That's rich coming from a Prynian." Anna growls. The man laughs, but there's a nervous flutter to it.

"Have you not been listening? I—"

"Obtaining Iloian clothing and speaking in the tense that you are Iloian instead of Prynian is easy; obtaining Iloian high grades weapons in the middle of a possible war, however, is not." She points to the men with him with short swords, medium swords and daggers. "If you weren't so stupid you wouldn't have brought any weapons from your ship. As it is, you just covered the hilts with different fabric so that they weren't gold. Besides, who the hell openly defies a royal negotiator in public with the colours of their own kingdom? No one, that's who. You seriously should have thought this moronic plan through before following through with it because now you're making Pryne look like even more of a dick sucking whore than they already do."

"Don't you dare talk about Pryne that way!" One of the other men shout, pointing his sword at her. "Pryne is twice the worth of any of these pitiable kingdoms!"

"Shut up!" The main man hisses.

"Ah, so you admit it. To be honest I knew you were all Prynian but I didn't actually have any solid evidence to prove it; granted it all makes sense and it's bloody obvious, but it still could have been disputed without your conformation, so thank you for that." Anna says, smiling smugly.

"Well, this failed." A gruff man says, shrugging. "Might as well make the most out of it."

"Wait, not!" The main man shouts.

Before anyone has time to react, the man hurls his dagger and it lands solidly in Anna's left leg. Howling in pain, Anna stumbles back and falls to a knee, her injured leg straight out in front of her. She assesses the damage as quickly as she can.

_If I get can put pressure on the wound, stay off my leg and get medical attention as soon as possible it'll be fine, but I need to get the hell out of here_. Anna thinks, gritting her teeth and pulling off her tank top, leaving her toned torso covered only by the binding on her chest. She hears a few whistles from the group of men, but she pays them no mind as she lays the shirt right above the dagger lodged in her leg.

Gritting her teeth and steeling herself, Anna pulls out the dagger.

Letting out a cry, Anna throws the dagger to the ground, puts her tank top over the wound and ties it as tight as she dares. Her wound throbs painfully and sharp spikes of pins and needles shoot up and down her leg and spine, but she tries her best to swallow it.

"With this act you have declared yourself, your friends and Pryne an enemy of Arendelle." Anna snarls, grabbing the dagger and pushing herself to standing, resting all her weight on her good leg. She spots Leo's head above the crowd behind the men and breathes a soft sigh of relief. Pointing her bloody dagger at the group of men, she shouts; "from this point forth you are hereby charged with the attempted assassination of an Arendelle royal, and your friends charged with assisting your cause. You are all to be arrested and taken back to Arendelle where you will be tried and executed for your crimes."

"Fuck you!" The man who threw the dagger spits, grabbing the medium sword of the guy beside him and dashing for Anna. Anna's eyes widen in surprise.

"Leo!" She shouts, leaping out of the way of a deadly swing to her head. Leo exits the crowd instantly and rears, slamming his hoof into the main man's head with an awful, wet cracking sound. He goes limp and crumples to the ground. Max takes the opportunity and bolts. Two of the men shout after him and start chasing him, but Lila temporarily breaks from her guard of the other children and intercepts the men, roaring loudly in their face, making them stumble back, fall and scramble away. Lila gently guides Max to the other children.

Leo gets in-between Anna and her assailant and rears again, raking the air with his hooves in warning. Anna's formal tunic falls from his back and she catches it. Her eyes widen and she glances back to the men who, just like she feared, are holding her swords that feel from Leo's back during the first time he reared.

"Fuck." Anna grinds, tossing away her dagger and pulling on her tunic, but not bothering to do up any of the buttons. When Leo is back on all fours, Anna reaches up and grabs the pummel of the leather saddle to give her injured leg relief when she puts the foot of her good leg in the stirrup and pulls herself up. She doesn't move to swing over her leg to sit on the saddle, instead she grabs the icy swords on either side of Leo's flanks and draws them before jumping back to the ground.

Out of the corner of her eye she can see May rounding the other men to keep them from fleeing into the crowd. There's also blood dripping from her teeth, but Anna does well to ignore that fact. She also notices, however, that the men are trying to split into multiple groups to get around the sole beast.

"Leo – help May!" Anna orders. He obeys without question. When Anna is back to facing off with the man, Anna twirls her swords and falls into the best fighting stance she can muster. The man eyes flash with something akin to fear as he eyes her ice swords, but otherwise looks unfazed. He falls into a fighting stance.

_Heavy attacks. Not light on his feet. Brute fighter. Downward and sideways slashes only. Is used to holding a heavy shield_. Anna assesses as she rakes her eyes over the man's bulking form. _I need to be light and only go for blows that I can easily spin out of_. Nodding slightly at her strategy, Anna readies herself for the coming onslaught.

Only to hear it coming from behind her.

Anna ducks mere seconds before a man with her swords scissors them in a motion to chop off her head. She spins around the man—narrowly missing the downward slash of the original man—and drives her sword up into the sneak attack man's armpit.

She tries to ignore the sickening twist in her stomach when she feels it crack bone and pop through the joint.

The man screams and instantly drops the sword he held in that hand, only for it to be picked up by the original guy.

Gritting her teeth, Anna rips out her sword and kneels just enough to slam to butt of her sword as hard as she can into the injured man's knee. It pops out of place with a hideous crack that makes the joint disfigured. It makes Anna queasy. The man collapses like a sack of potatoes, howling and screaming in agony. The original man drops his medium sword and picks up the other one of Anna's—that the injured man has no use of anymore—and hefts them in his hands to feel the weight of them.

"You have good taste in weapons." The gruff man hums, falling back into his original fighting stance. Anna examines it quickly.

_Trained in duel wielding but not his forté – his stance is still angled more to the benefit of a shield then for two weapons_. She thinks.

"You have poor taste in who you choose you be your enemy." Anna counters, growling and swirling her swords beside her – the blood from her right sword fanning off and splattering on the man's face and clothes.

Anna hears the sound of crunching bone behind her, followed by a blood curdling scream.

Anna refuses to think of exactly what caused it, but, if her opponent's suddenly pale face is anything to go by, it was either May chomping down on a man's limb or Leo tramping over someone.

Fighting a wave of nausea, Anna presses forward and dances around her opponent—with much more skill then you'd think her wound would allow—swinging her swords and slicing at his skin when she can. More often than not her swords are deflected and his attacks redirected, but, out of the two of them, Anna has landed more blood-drawing hits than he. Well, if you don't count the dagger he lodged into her leg before the fight.

To Anna's surprise, her great expanse of training takes over her completely and an eerie calm settles over her – as if her body is trying to get her brain to shut off to not judge the morality of her own actions. Instead, her body forces her brain to flash back to what seems like a distant memory, but in reality happened not even three weeks ago.

_"Uh, okay. Right." Kristoff says, shifting and clearing his throat uncomfortably. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to, but I've been wondering . . . would you kill again? If you had to, I mean."_

_Anna muscles go rigid so fast she swears she gives herself whiplash. Kristoff winces, regretting his words immediately._

_"I'm sorry." Anna says, her face contorting in pain. Kristoff holds out his hands to pacify the girl._

_"No, no – it's my fault. I shouldn't of—"_

_"That's not what I mean." Anna says, gritting her teeth. "I'm sorry because I know what you want to hear . . . but I can't give you that answer."_

Anna grits her teeth at the memory, forcing herself back into the present.

Then instantly regrets it.

The sight that awaits her is her opponent howling in pain, both swords clattering on the ground as he cradles the messy, blood squirting stump where his hand used to be.

Despite her better judgement, Anna looks to the ground.

She stares at the severed hand still tightly gripping hilt of one of the swords.

This time Anna can't suppress her gag reflex, but she's able to keep it under control enough not to puke. In her effort to control herself, however, the man roars and slams his fist into Anna's face. To her disproval, it lands in the exact same spot Elroy punched her twice not four days earlier.

Sputtering and letting out a cry of pain, Anna stumbles back and shakes her head gently, trying to clear her vision and the ringing in her ears. Knowing that the man will try to attack again while she's blind, she spins her swords in a tight circle in front of her.

To her upmost regret, she feels one slice through flesh and lodge into the joint between bones with a horrid _crunch_.

Anna's senses clear up just in time to see her sword half severing the man's elbow of his good arm and hear his desperate, pitiful howl of pain. Swallowing the lump in her throat, Anna yanks out her sword – dislocating the elbow joint completely with a sickening _pop_ in the process.

When the man crumbles to his knees in a mess of screams in front of her, Anna takes a moment to survey the scene around her.

Blood and a few scattered body parts—including a foot, Anna notes; barely suppressing the urge to vomit at the sight—litter the ground. Blood drips from May's mouth, and blood is splattered all up the front of Leo's legs.

Out of the original twelve men, only four—who cower in a clump on their knees, hands behind their heads—remain un-blooded and in one piece. Anna limps further into the square, the full scale of what just happened not quite hitting her until she takes in the sight of the terrified children, and it hits her square in the chest.

They're not scared about what just happened, they're scared of _her_.

Anna drops her swords as if she were burnt and clutches the side of her head with one hand, frantically waving to Lila with the other.

"Get them out of here." Anna commands, clenching her teeth as she tries to control her breathing. When she notices Lila doesn't move, Anna whips on her. "Get them out of here!" She bellows, her voice cracking. Her lips quiver, but she has enough restraint to hold her sorrow back.

Right now she had to deal with this mess.

Golems from the Royal Grace start piling into the square.

Well, better late than never.

"Aid the injured and clean up the square!" Anna projects, limping towards the fountain. "Use your ice to slow the bleeding until the medics say otherwise."

From the other side of the square, Iloa soldiers push their way through the crowd. They stare at what beholds them in horror.

"Get the wounded to a hospital under golem surveillance. Transport the able bodies to the Royal Grace for imprisonment." Anna continues, her voice slightly weaker than before as she sits on the edge of the fountain. She buttons up her tunic with shaky hands and gingerly pulls off her gloves. She forces out a slow, even breath – willing herself to calm down. Only she can't. This is the first time since the war that she's had to maim someone and—

Anna's breath hitches in her throat.

Gods, she can't take this right now.

Just like that, the pain from her wound, her exhaustion and her almost heat-stroke hit her all at once. As her eyes flutter into the back of her skull, she barely registers the cries of alarm when she teeters backwards – fainting as she feels herself being engulfed in water.

* * *

Two hours later.

When Anna opens her eyes next, it's still far too soon for her liking. Groaning, Anna throws an arm over her eyes – even though the only light comes from two solitary lanterns on either side of her bed.

"So, you're finally awake."

Anna groans more and throws her other arm over her face. She doesn't want to deal with people. Not right now. She hears the person sigh softly.

"I'm sorry about what happened to you."

_Wait, I know this voice._

Anna throws away her arms and looks to Arwyn with narrow eyes and an angry scowl.

"You should be sorry about what your brutish soldiers did to that poor boy and what they subjected the population to. You should be sorry that you crossed Arendelle by betraying my trust by _using children_ against me. If those men confess that you or Thayne are behind this—which we both know that they won't, even though it's true—death would be the least of your fucking worries." Anna snarls, glaring daggers into the woman. May and Lila, at the end of the bed, growl at Arwyn.

Anna notices the drying blood in and around May's mouth and her stomach reels. She averts her eyes and squeezes them tightly.

"Clean yourself off, May." She says, waving her arm for the tiger to leave. When she hears the beast walking away, she takes in a shaky breath and hisses it out as steadily as she can. She can't stop the trembling in her hand when she reaches up and rubs her eyes.

"I'm sorry." Arwyn says, far softer then Anna thought the woman was capable of. Frowning, Anna opens her eyes and glances to the woman, who winces at the attention. The woman's gaze falls to her lap, where she twists her fingers together uncomfortably. "When I explained everything to Thayne, he used the child variable to deduce that you'd eventually leave the castle. I didn't actually think that he'd—" Arwyn's voice hitches and she clenches her jaw tightly. "I may have sent along the Iloian clothes to the ship, but it was Thayne who sent along the orders – I had no idea what he was planning." Anna stares at the woman, a frown tugging on her lips.

"Why are you telling me this?" Anna asks, confused. "We may not have any witnesses so I can't use your word in court, but you're literally handing me what I need to know—and shouldn't be so willing to give up—on a silver platter. Why?" Arywn shifts uneasily. She looks up just long enough to give Anna a self-conscious smile before turning her attention back to her lap.

"You've . . . grown on me a lot more than I'd like to admit." She confesses. Anna's frown deepens.

"Then why did you relay that information to Thayne? Why did you help him?" Anna asks, genuinely confused but not without the hint of blame. Arwyn gives an exasperated gesture with her hands.

"It was after the first meeting on the first day – I didn't know you and I didn't know what he was going to do." She grinds, as if the words were painfully dragged from her lungs. "I never wanted you to get hurt." She whispers, the muscles in her jaw bulging as tears well in her eyes.

Anna blinks, matching the words to Arwyn's tone.

Her conclusion takes a full three seconds to hit home.

"You're falling in love with me." Anna breathes, hardly believing the words even as Arwyn stiffens uncomfortably, but doesn't deny them. "Well." Anna says, scratching her cheek nervously. "That . . . I did not see that coming."

"You should've." Arwyn mutters, crossing her arms over her chest and turning her head to the side, trying to hide her flushed cheeks. "You're very disarming and charming." She admits, barely loud enough for Anna to hear. Anna smiles shyly and, admittedly, a bit uncomfortably.

"Thank you – I'm flattered, but I'm already taken." Anna says, as if dealing with a wild animal. Arwyn shrugs, but it's a jerky motion.

"I know. There just happened to be an unfortunate disconnect between my brain and my crotch on the one subject I needed them to agree on." Arwyn sighs, closing her eyes and rubbing her temples gently. Anna nibbles on her bottom lip gently.

"How are you second in command of the whole attacking fleet?" Anna asks, changing the topic. It throws Arwyn for a slight loop and she frowns. Anna elaborates. "I mean, you're only a commodore. Not that that's not impressive, because it is – it's just that Thayne is a fleet admiral. It doesn't really make sense to me that they'd send the highest rank only to follow it with a rank three stations down." Arwyn, catching up with the topic, nods slowly.

"I have a lot of sway." She says tentatively, as if measuring how much she should give away. "So yes, I'm not the second highest rank currently in that fleet, but my civilian position gives me power over these types of decisions." Anna knows Arwyn is holding an important detail back, but doesn't push it. Instead she asks:

"How much power does that give you in the peace negotiations?"

Seeming to know where this is going, Arwyn shifts uncomfortably. "In a military sense I only have as much power as my station allows, but when it comes to matters of state . . ." Arwyn chews her bottom lip uneasily, eying Anna as if determining if she's to be trusted or not. Anna sends her a kind, reassuring smile. After a long, awkward beat, the woman sighs heavily – reluctantly. "I'm half royal."—She finally admits—"So when it comes to matters such as the peace treaty, Thayne may be able to sign a draft before our king can finalize it, but my signature would set it in stone. That's why I've been letting Thayne take the lead on this deal – to make you all believe that he holds the most power on our side of the table so that you'd get him to sign the draft instead of me." Anna hums gently.

"I was wondering why someone so bright never took the bull by the horns; especially since everyone else from your kingdom seems to have that hell-bent I'm-the-best: everyone-look-at-me personality." Anna says, a faint teasing note to her words that makes Arwyn twitch a small smile.

"Coming from you, I'll take that as a compliment." She says, seeming to be dragging herself up from the hole that she's dug for herself. Anna smiles gently.

"That's probably the best way to take it." Anna says, still reluctant to forgive the woman she blames for the fresh blood-stained memories chaffing her nerves raw. Arwyn seems to hear a note to that effect in her voice, because her look changes to one more calculated – not in a cruel or emotionless way, just thoughtful.

"You where mumbling in your sleep." Arwyn finally says, apparently determining the topic safe enough to dive into. Anna stiffens slightly.

"Oh yeah?" Anna asks, her voice carefully stripped of emotion. Arwyn smiles sadly.

"Don't worry – I was the only one around, and you didn't say anything too personal." She says, pausing thoughtfully. "You were calling out to people I've never heard of and you . . ." frowning, Arwyn rubs her bottom lip gently. "You started crying." She finishes. By the look on the woman's face, she seems disturbed by the memory.

_Huh, so that's why my cheeks are kinda crunchy_. Anna thinks. The thought of 'crunch' makes her pale, and she smiles weakly.

"Yeah – I do that sometimes." Anna admits, but not going as far as admitting that she as PTSD. Not that she needs to – she has the stinking suspicion that Arywn already knows. Arwyn's frown deepens.

"I don't like that." She finally says. Anna tilts her head curiously.

"You don't like what?" Anna prompts, confused. Arwyn forces a pained smile.

"The thought of you suffering." She confesses. Anna smiles.

"Thank you." Anna breathes sincerely, her smile widening when Arwyn twitches a shy, lopsided smile. "You know, with your station you can help me from suffering any more." Anna raises her hand when Arwyn makes to argue. "If war breaks out between Iloa and Pryne I'll have to honour my contract with Iloa Jasper had to sign to get me here." A frown twitches at the corners of Arwyn's lips.

"What do you mean?" She asks. Anna blinks, mildly shocked.

"You mean you don't know?" She asks. When Arwyn shakes her head, Anna lets out a small bemused huff. "Huh. Well, it pretty much states that we'll act as a support network in the city, but it also unintentionally means that me and my golems are the city's last tier of defense. So if war breaks, I'm going to be in the worst position anyone could have ever drawn up – I'll be helpless to influence the tides of war until it's too late to be of any use to anyone. At any rate, my fragile sanity will shatter fairly quickly under the pressure. If you can live with that, though, well . . . I can't really stop you from firing your cannons if you really want to." She says, a frown tugging at her lips at the thought. Arwyn shifts uncomfortably.

"I want to help you, but if I sign Pryne into an agreement the king doesn't agree with I'm as good as dead. At the very least I'll be stripped on my position and imprisoned for the rest of my days." Arwyn says, her eyebrows knitting together. "I really do want to help you, but you're going to have to give me something I can work with." Anna nods in understanding.

"Okay." She says. "I'll draw up a fair treaty tonight and have you look at it before I present it tomorrow – that way I won't have to change anything." Arwyn quirks an eyebrow.

"Me agreeing with it doesn't automatically mean that Iloa will." She says. Anna waves off her concern.

"This kingdom is easy enough to appease when it comes to dealing with Pryne – as long as the deal is mostly fair and they know you're going to sign it, they will too." Anna says, passing the kingdom off as a discarded toy. Arwyn's lips quiver as she tries to hold back her humour.

"That's a little harsh, don't you think?" She asks, a smile starting to break over her lips. Anna shrugs.

"I don't care – it's the truth, isn't it?" Anna states, blunt as ever. Arwyn barks a laugh, mirth shining in her eyes. As she stares at the woman, Anna can't stop the watery, thankful smile that spreads across her lips. "Thank you." Anna whispers. Arwyn's humour subdues at Anna's tone and she gives the girl her upmost attention. Anna's smile broadens gently. "After all the shit of the past three days I . . . I didn't know if I was going to be able to make this work, and it hurt thinking I wasn't able to do anything." Anna wipes at her eyes as she starts tearing. "Sorry." She says, chuckling weakly. She feels something soft wiping her cheeks, and she looks up to see Arwyn using an expensive looking cloth to dry her tears. The said woman smiles kindly.

"Don't be." Arwyn whispers gently. "I get it. So . . . just draw up your perfect little treaty you've been threatening me with and summon me when you're ready for me to read it over." Anna feels her heart flutter and she smiles as brightly.

"Thank you." Anna repeats, pouring her heart and soul into the words to try to convey the extent of her gratitude. It seems to work, because Arwyn's eyes mist and she gives Anna a brave, watery smile. She rises from her chair and leans over Anna, pressing her lips gently against the younger girl's forehead.

"You're welcome." Arwyn whispers, patting Anna's cheek gently and straightening. "I'll go get a golem to help escort you back to your room."

* * *

Present time.

Anna nods her head to the stack of papers she was working on when Elsa woke up. "So I've been working on this treaty ever since then. I'm almost done it, but that's mainly because I had most of the ideas already – I just never voiced them because Pryne seemed too unreasonable to accept them."

Elsa stares at Anna for a long time before clearing her throat awkwardly and rubbing the back of her neck. "Wow, that's . . . that's a lot to take in." She says, worrying her bottom lip. She stares at Anna tentatively. "How are you holding up?" Anna tries to shrug, but it comes out as more of a jerky twitch.

"Honestly? Not very well." Anna replies sincerely, her eyebrows twisting in thought. "I don't really want to deal with those men again either, let alone sail back with them. I'm hoping Pryne or Iloa will take the lead on that to regain favour with Arendelle and take the men into their custody." Anna says, frowning. Elsa shrugs.

"You can always bring up the issue with Arwyn when you meet with her tonight." She suggests. Then she frowns. "Please don't make out with her in some sort of persuasion technique." Anna blinks and gives Elsa an astonished look before bursting into hysterical laughter.

"I'm already taken by you, dummy!" Anna hoots, holding her stomach as laughter continues peeling through her. She sobers enough to hold up her left hand—showing off her ring—and wriggles her eyebrows suggestively. Then a thought seems to come to her, because she then sends Elsa an annoyed—yet still amused—look. "The way you proposed was dirty, by the way. I didn't like it." Elsa can't help herself – she laughs. The vibration immediately goes to her side, however, and she yelps. Anna's eyes flash with concern as Elsa winces and holds her side tighter. Anna tries to go to her side, but then _she_ yelps when she puts pressure on her leg. She falls back into her chair with a grimace. Elsa chuckles dryly.

"What a lovely pair we make." Elsa says, twitching a faintly amused smile. "How did we get through a war without any major wounds only to succumb to shitty luck?" Anna chuckles and shrugs lightly.

"Because we wanted to be different?" She suggests, amusement lacing her words. Elsa barks a laugh, then winces.

"Ow. Okay, note to self – no more laughing." Elsa says, sending Anna an apologetic smile. Anna twitches a smile and waves off Elsa's worry.

"Don't worry about it – I'm not exactly in a better position than you are right now. But at least I don't have any broken bones." Anna jabs, smirking.

"At least I can walk." She teases, returning Anna's smirk with a devilish one of her own. Anna's mouth drops in mock offense.

"Excuse me, madam – but I am a princess. If I so desired I could have servants carry me to wherever I please!" She huffs and turns her head dramatically to the side. Elsa laughs then, again, winces.

"Okay, as much as I love you – please stop making me laugh." Elsa says, her side now throbbing painfully from the abuse. Anna twitches a self-conscious smile.

"Sorry."—She apologizes, shrugging weakly—"I just missed playing around with you." Elsa's eyes soften, but instead of going sappy Elsa says:

"Well I've missed your head between my thighs." She says, sighing dramatically. "Oh, the scarifies." Anna roars a laugh and slams her hand down on the table in mercy. Elsa smiles kindly. When Anna calms down, she grins broadly before sobering and tapping the peace treaty in front of her.

"I really need to finish this soon. Can you entertain yourself for a bit?" She asks. Elsa is half tempted to make a masturbation joke, but instead she simply nods.

"Of course. Do you need any help with it?" She asks. Anna shakes her head.

"Naw, I pretty much have the thing completed already." She says, smiling gratefully. She's about to turn back to the papers when she pauses. "Actually,"—she starts, slowly—"there is something I might need you to do." Elsa's ears perk in interest.

"I'm listening." Elsa prompts, waiting for Anna to continue. The girl nods.

"I won't need you with this, but when we're in the room tomorrow—"


	8. Peace, Death or Compromise - Part 2

Elsa wakes up the following morning from prolonged habit of getting up before the sun and, more recently, waking up before Anna. Normally it's a tiresome task, but today Elsa can't find it with herself to mind all that much.

The queen can't help the affectionate smile that spreads across her lips at the sight of Anna's lion mane beside her on the pillow. She notes with some satisfaction that the girl isn't drooling, but Elsa knows it's because Anna isn't allowed to sleep on her side with her wounded leg. Elsa couldn't even cuddle the girl to comfort her, either, because the only side the queen can lay on puts her facing Anna's left. In other words it lined her up perfectly with Anna's injured leg, and Elsa didn't trust herself to not straddle it while she slept. Thus they—boringly—slept side-by-side.

Admittedly, though, with the events in the city the other day, Anna hadn't been able to sleep very well. In fact, if Elsa hadn't been there to calm her down, Anna's screams would have alerted the whole castle.

Twice throughout the night Elsa had to sooth Anna's internal pain by shaking her awake and holding her until she fell back asleep. The girl's post traumatic stress hasn't been that aggravated since the months following the war, and the revival of it pains Elsa more than she'll ever admit.

"Mm. Elsa."

Elsa blinks herself out of her thoughts. "Yes?" She asks, focusing on Anna's face. To Elsa's surprise, however, Anna is still very much asleep. The queen is about to pass it off when Anna tilts her head back just enough to notice and releases a breathy, silent moan, her hips rolling ever so slightly. Elsa can feel the heat rushing to her cheeks as she realises what the younger girl is dreaming of. "Oh." Elsa breathes, her breath hitching as she watches Anna's face flush a delicate shade of pink and her mouth fall open ever so slightly.

The queen tries to regulate her breathing, but with Anna's dream getting the girl more and more worked up, Elsa finds it impossible to do so. Elsa rolls on her side, props herself on her elbow and lets her eyes wonder to Anna's hips, mostly hidden by the blankets. Biting her lip, the queen's gaze flickers back to Anna's face.

"Should be fine, right?" Elsa murmurs, a sly smile spreading over her lips as she slides her free hand down Anna's torso and slips it into her trousers.

* * *

"_Ugh!_" Anna moans, waking with a start. She is about to blush and apologise from vocalizing her dream, when she realises it wasn't all in her head. She barely has time to gape at Elsa's smug expression before she throws her head back, a guttural moan ripping past her throat as she's sent over the edge. She continues rolling her hips into Elsa's hand until the shuddering stops and she's left staring at the ceiling, panting. Elsa purrs happily and pulls out her fingers, wiping them off on the sheets.

"Morning." Elsa hums, smirking in satisfaction. Anna nods dumbly. Elsa chuckles and dips her head, taking Anna's lips in her own. Anna responds to the kiss weakly, her head still in the clouds. Elsa chuckles again and pulls away.

"Morning." Anna breathes, finally turning her head to take in the sight of the tussled queen. "Wanna do that again?" She asks. Elsa laughs, immediately followed by a wince.

"Ow. Okay, note to self – laughing still hurts." She says. Anna frowns, her eyes flashing with concern. Before Anna can say anything more, however, Elsa waves her hand to calm the girl. "I'm fine. My side just doesn't like high vibrations right now." Elsa smirks and wriggles her fingers. "But my hand has nothing to do with that, if you want it again." Anna's breath hitches and she nods. Elsa smirks and she dips her hand back under the covers. Anna sighs when she feels Elsa lightly squeeze her inner thigh.

"Wait." Anna says, before Elsa's hand can meet its goal. Elsa's eyebrows furrow in confusion, but before she can say anything Anna wraps her arms around Elsa's neck and pulls her in for a passionate kiss. When Elsa is about to deepen it, Anna pulls away and places her lips beside Elsa's ear. "I want you, too." She whispers. A shiver runs down Elsa's spine but, to Anna's surprise, the elder shakes her head.

"I'd love that, but you can't." Elsa says, lightly kissing Anna's neck as her fingers slip to where they're needed. Anna's breath catches in her throat.

"Why not?" She asks, keeping her voice as steady as she can.

"My broken ribs would despise me." Elsa chuckles. Anna makes the best annoyed face she can.

"Well that's fucking stupid." She deadpans, her scowl clear in her tone. Elsa barks a laugh against her skin, then immediately flinches.

"_Ow_. Seriously, Anna, stop making me laugh." Elsa growls, bitter. No matter how hard the queen tries to conceal it, though, Anna can still hear the pain in Elsa's voice. Instead of apologizing, however, Anna merely smirks.

"Well, considering I can still talk I blame it on you; because you're obviously doing something wrong if— oh good _Gods_." Anna moans, throwing her head back. Elsa props herself up on her free arm and raises a causal eyebrow, as if her other hand wasn't setting a deadly pace inside the younger girl.

"My turn to talk?" Elsa asks. Anna, panting and gripping the sheets, doesn't grace the elder with a response. "I'll take that as a yes." Elsa continues, in the same causal tone that makes Anna want to punch her in the face. "While I may not be able to laugh, shout, breathe too deeply or scream, at least I can still function properly. And, if I do recall, I don't make a point of poking at your leg or forcing you to walk on it without support. Furthermore—"

"Oh, shut _up_." Anna growls, arching her back as she pushes her hips further into Elsa's hand. She vaguely registers Elsa raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, you can still talk?" She asks. Anna is about to snap back a response when Elsa, keeping with her pace, curls her fingers.

"Aah!" Anna screams, her vision starting to fray at the edges. She feels Elsa shift, and the next thing she knows the elder's free arm is under her head and a hand is wrapped over her mouth.

"You don't want to alert the whole castle." Elsa murmurs, her hold firm but surprisingly gentle. Elsa starts whispering under her breath, but Anna is too far gone to register what is being said.

* * *

Elsa rests her chin on Anna's head as she murmurs:

"Wake up call is in thirty minutes, then an hour for freshening up and eating, then the peace treaty meeting. The treaty is completed and approved by Arwyn, but that doesn't mean the others will as readily accept it – notably Thayne and the king. The third Pryne officer has shown hostile tendencies, though, and may prove more of a problem. I need to be in the optimal position, directly across from Anna, standing in the space at the end of the two tables – giving me the perfect vantage point. If—"

"Elsa, _please_." Anna moans into the hand Elsa has clamped over her mouth, her entire body quivering and shaking under the queen's grip. Elsa hums gently and softly kisses Anna's temple.

"Go ahead, snowflake." Elsa whispers, upping her pace even more. Anna screams, the sound thankfully muffled by Elsa's hand, as she releases and quakes in Elsa's soft hold.

As Anna rides out her waves of pleasure, however, Elsa's mind is already wondering to the pressing danger they'll be facing in less than two hours time. Elsa chews her bottom lip gently.

_I think this is going to be a lot harder than what Anna believes it'll be._

Elsa feels Anna calm beneath her and forces her thoughts to the back of her mind, simply smiling in affection as Anna's dazed eyes stare up at her. A lazy smile spreads over the younger girl's lips.

"Best wake-up call ever."

* * *

Arwyn, a wet towel wrapped around her hair as she buttons up her tunic, chews her cheek in thought.

Although Anna's treaty is literally ingenious, she doesn't know if it will satisfy a room full of people letting their emotions and pride get in the way of progress. She brought this up to Anna, but the younger girl had the upmost faith that everything would go according to plan, and refused to hear otherwise. Arwyn, a realist, naturally forced Anna to address it, but it hadn't been a smooth conversation.

Arwyn sighs and dips her head, pinching the bridge of her nose as she recalls the discussion.

-Flashback-

"Anna—"

"As soon as his majesty signs—"

"Anna—"

"—We can all go home and—"

"Anna!"

Anna gives an aggravated hiss and turns to Arwyn with an annoyed expression.

"What?" Anna drawls, her eyebrows set in an annoyed line. Arwyn sighs and rubs her temples.

"You have to address what you'll do if this treaty isn't excepted." The commodore presses, reiterating the topic the princess seems avid to avoid. "Tomorrow is the last day of the cease fire, and if this thing isn't signed it's going to be all out war _unless_ you have a backup card. I know you prefer this treaty – hell, _I_ prefer this treaty, but you need to be prepared for the possibility that—"

"Okay, fine." Anna sighs reluctantly, slouching back in her chair and waving her hand in the air absently. "Since you're so keen on creating a fallback, please enlighten me to the alternatives." Arwyn releases the breath she wasn't aware she was holding.

"Thank you." She says. Anna waves her off hastily, irritably.

"Just give me options." She mumbles, tapping her finger impatiently on the arm of her chair. Arwyn hesitates; she hadn't actually thought of any plausible, happy alternatives. Anna smiles bitterly. "Like I thought; there aren't any, are there?" Arwyn clenches her jaw and closes her eyes, gently massaging the bridge of her nose.

"No, there is – you just won't like it." She mutters, the only other solution swimming in her head like it has for the past two days. "Hell,"—Arwyn says, huffing a humourless laugh—"I'm not even particularly fond of it." Anna frowns.

"Then why would I consider it?" She asks, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion. Arwyn sighs and leans back in her chair.

"Because it's the only other way to guarantee peace." Arwyn strains, her eyes screwing shut and her face contorting slightly. Anna's frown deepens.

"Now you've got me worried." Anna says slowly, cautiously. "This plan of yours doesn't involve death, does it?" Arwyn chuckles softly.

"No, but you might consider it worse." Arwyn replies, taking a steadying breath and meeting Anna's gaze. "You'd have to marry into Pryne's royal line."

One second. Two seconds.

Anna's eyes narrow dangerously, her lips parting in a sneer.

"Are you so desperate that you'd use this to get me in your bed?" Anna growls. Arwyn's eyes widen in surprise.

"What? No! I'd never—"

Anna slams her hand down on Arwyn's desk. "Don't lie to me!" Anna snarls. "You may say 'marry into the royal line' but there's only one damn Prynian royal here and she's sitting right in front of me." Arwyn narrows her eyes.

"You could easily draw up a contract with you agreeing to marry any of the other available royal members. Just because I'm the only one here doesn't mean—"

"Yes it does!" Anna shouts, momentarily losing her cool. She takes a moment to rein herself in, but the fury in her eyes doesn't diminish. "Yes it does." Anna repeats, her voice an eerie calm that makes the hairs on the back of Arwyn's neck stand on end. "Because Pryne wouldn't know about this arrangement you and I signed them into until we're already half way there. There's no telling if they'd actually—"

"You're an Arendelle royal." Arwyn deadpans. "Even if they were displeased at the fleet returning without leaving Iloa in ruins, they'd have gained something better then a beaten nation – an alliance with the most feared kingdom in the known world. So I can assure you that Pryne would readily accept the agreement."

"There's still no competition." Anna growls, her eyes narrowing ever further. "You _know_ that I don't like the attitude of most Prynians, so why would I risk a faceless stranger when I have you? You know that you're the only Prynian I can stand, and you know that I'd pick you because I trust you'd be fair to me. So why—" This time Arwyn slams her hand down on the desk.

"No." She spits, spittle flying from her mouth. "I would hate that agreement more than you could _ever_ imagine." She barely notices Anna's dumbstruck expression as she continues with; "It would eat me up inside if I had you by title alone – to know you're mine but that you'll never love me, perhaps even hating me for as long as you live because I took you away from Elsa. I brought this up because it's the only fucking fallback we have, but if it actually comes to that—" Arwyn clenches her jaw, tears welling her eyes. She leans forward, her narrowed eyes swimming with warning. "If it actually comes to that and I think you'll loathe me if I put a ring on your finger, then I'll refuse – because I'd rather let Iloa burn then see your hateful gaze for the remainder of my days." Arwyn stiffly leans back, her jaw muscles bulging. Anna stares at her, her jaw unhinged as she stares at the older woman. She gently closes her mouth and clears her throat.

"I—"

"Just don't let it come to that." Arwyn mutters, refusing to meet Anna's eyes. Anna hesitates, then nods stiffly.

"Yeah, I— . . . yeah." Anna says, her eyebrows knitting together. "Look— . . ." Sighing—not finding the words she's looking for—Anna turns back to the treaty. "You said you had an issue with section three? Is there something I can rearrange—"

-Flashback End-

Arwyn chucks her damp towel across the room, sneering at the memory. Forcing her breathing to be even, she quickly ties her hair into its signature messy bun before giving herself a once over in the mirror. She pauses when her eyes land on her face. Swallowing, she forces herself to take a good hard look at her reflection.

She has a hard, chiselled jaw line, strong cheekbones, an intimidating air, a commanding stare and several violent scars.

Forcing herself to breathe, she stares into her eyes.

What she sees makes her cringe.

Letting out an uneven breath, Arwyn gently sits in the chair in front of the vanity, being careful to avoid looking at the mirror. She stays like that for several seconds before tentatively looking up and gazing out the window.

"I would change for you." She whispers, tears misting her eyes. She clenches her jaw. "If I had to, I would change for you." She reiterates, reaffirming the statement for herself. Turning her head just enough to see her reflection out of the corner of her eye, Arwyn lets out a slow, even breath. "Though maybe I have to anyway." She murmurs, frowning softly.

There's a knock on the door.

"Who is it?" Arwyn calls, pushing herself to her feet.

"Thayne." Comes the short response. Sighing, Arwyn turns to face the door.

"Come in." She says. The door is pushed open and Thayne enters, leaving his golem protector in the hallway.

"Are you ready to—" Thayne cuts himself off, frowning as he takes in Arwyn's appearance. "Why aren't you wearing your armour?" He asks, his frown deepening as he sees it resting untouched on the armour rack in the corner. Arwyn shrugs.

"It's a pain in the ass, mostly." She admits vaguely, not going as far as to admit she's doing it to show Anna she trusts her. Thayne eyes Arwyn oddly.

"This is the last day – we only have three more scheduled meetings before we're sailing back to the fleet to ready for tomorrow's attack. I hardly think it's safe to—"

Arwyn waves her hand dismissively. "No one's really going to know what turn things are going to take until the end of the first meeting. After that I can come here and put this shit back on in case Iloa decides to put out a hit on my head." When Thayne makes to argue, Arwyn raises her hand to stop him. "Remember that everyone here thinks you have the most power, and, when it comes to the commanding the fleet, you do. So if a hit is going to be arranged it'll likely be on your head, not mine." Thayne's eyebrows fall into an unamused line.

"If a hit is going to be arranged it'd be on all three Prynians in the castle, not just me." Thayne deadpans. Arwyn shrugs.

"That may be, but if anything _is_ being arranged they'd still wait to the conclusion of the first meeting. If it looks like we're getting somewhere it'll be postponed, but if it's going absolutely nowhere it'll be set in motion after Jasper, his majesty or the council member give their progress report." Arwyn says. Seeing Thayne isn't completely convinced, Arwyn rolls her eyes and walks to the weapons rack. She grabs her sword and secures the belt around her waist. She turns back to Thayne and raises an annoyed eyebrow. "Better?" She asks. Thayne hums indecisively.

"I suppose." He murmurs, his eyes flicking back to the suit of armour. Arwyn sighs.

"I'll come straight here after the first meeting and put it on." She relents, even though that was her intention anyway. Hell, the only reason she's not wearing it is to prove a point to Anna.

_That stupid girl might be the literal death of me_. Arwyn thinks, suppressing the urge to groan and pinch the bridge of her nose. _The sad part is that it might actually be worth it_.

"Fine." Thayne allows, jerking his head to the door. "Let's get to the meeting."

* * *

The room is full of the most awkward, tensest silence any of the six present individuals have ever had to experience. Even the king clenches and unclenches his fist on his lap, glancing frequently at the clock.

Anna, for the first time since she arrived, is late.

Admittedly she's technically only fifteen minutes past the mark, but for all the other meetings she had made a point of arriving on time or even arriving early.

Thayne is just about to suggest sending someone to get the girl when she loudly bursts into the room, purposefully striding to her desk with a heavy limp and ignoring everyone in the room. Elroy settles himself between the ends of both tables, while May and Lila settle themselves on either side of Anna's desk, as per usual.

Anna sits at her desk and takes out all the papers in her satchel, continuing to act like she's the only one in the room as she organizes them on her desk. The king clears his throat.

"Your highness, don't you think—"

"Shh." Anna breathes, not even bothering to raise her head. Most people in the room exchange looks or frown. A few more minutes tick by until Anna finally collects a stack of parchment and vaguely waves it so the room can see it. "This is a peace treaty contract." She says, ignoring the shock that appears on people's faces as she continues with; "I'm going to tell you what's on it, then the two signing parties—_and no one else_—will come up and read it over to make sure they agree with the fine print. After which, if everything reminds in order, this will be signed and everyone will go home. Any questions?" She glances around the room, but no one rises to the challenge. "Good." She looks down to the papers in front of her.

"This should be interesting." The chosen Prynian officer murmurs, a hint of amusement flashing in his eyes.

"If you want to make sarcastic, demoralizing statements please go outside where someone might actually give a shit." Anna says, not even bothering to look up as she skims over the first page of the treaty. The man flusters and his jaw clenches, but one sharp look from Thayne stops any rebuttal he might of had.

"Okay,"—Anna starts, never taking her eyes from the parchment—"first and foremost is the most obvious – no Prynian ship is allowed to enter or pass though Iloa waters without permission, and no Iloian ship is allowed to enter or pass through Pryne waters without permission. Secondly – any army or fleet military drills by either kingdom must be announced to the other kingdom if it contains any of the following; five-hundred men or more, twenty ships, massive weapons of war or destruction, cannon fire from more than twenty-five cannons or if more than fifty shots are fired, if you are within fifteen kilometers of the other kingdom's boarders, or if your drill is taking place with high ranking foreign dignitaries within your walls, on the water, or within your kingdom's borders in general.

"As for trade,"—she continues, not giving anyone the chance to interrupt—"it will be an even exchange rate with the following exception: any transaction taking place for one of the other kingdom's major exports will receive fifteen percent more of that major export than what they receive. If a major export is being exchanged for a major export, however, the exchange rate will be equal. In other words, if Pryne seeks to trade dried meat—a minor export—with Iloian wheat—a major export—Pryne will receive fifteen percent more product then what they send. However, if Iloa seeks to trade cloth—a major export—with Prynian steel—also a major export—both kingdoms will receive the exact same amount of product that they send.

"Now for the interesting part. All Iloian ship building contracts _have_ to be with Pryne, and all Prynian ship building contracts _have_ to be with Iloa. This also includes all major renovations."

"_What?_" Multiple people blurt. Anna, seemingly unfazed, raises her eyes to the room.

"My reasoning—"

"No." The chosen Prynian officer growls, glaring at the princess. "Pryne will not subject the quality of our ships to—"

"The fate of both kingdom's fleets are in each other's hands." Anna says calmly, cutting the man off. "In other words, it means that the quality you put out is the quality you receive. If you try to sabotage one of their ships, then the other kingdom has the power to sabotage ten of yours. It's a reliance method that forces the two kingdoms to trust each other, no matter how reluctant that trust might be. If both sides continuously hand over amazing quality ships, however, that trust will slowly cement itself and turn that reluctance into happy acceptance. Also, do you not think you'd get a better quality vessel if it were made by another kingdom where trust and faith constantly hangs in the balance rather than in the hands of your own builders, who have virtually nothing to lose?" Anna asks, raising a challenging eyebrow. The man sneers, barely suppressing a growl.

"But they'll know our ships mechanics and can steal the blueprints for their own, and—"

"If they seriously wanted to figure out the mechanics of your different ships, they'd find one of your ship-wrecked or beached vessels and take it apart. Even if they didn't, it's not that hard to figure ships out – I mean, all you have to do is look at how the thing is built and see how it moves, then all you have to do is put a ship builder on the task of making something of the like." Anna drawls, her eyebrows drawn in an unamused line. "Besides, if you let me finish—" The man barks a laugh.

"Why would we let you finish? This treaty is getting worse and worse the further into it we get!" He says, letting out a round of sharp, condescending cackles. Anna's eyes narrow dangerously.

"You can't judge a pie by the raw ingredients alone." Anna says, her voice dripping with warning. "Besides,"—she continues, before the man can utter a sound—"you're not the one I need to sign this treaty, so technically I don't need you in this room." An eerie, foreboding smile spreads over her lips. "So if you continue spewing unhelpful comments and being a general hindrance to the progression of this signing, I will see to it that you never enter this room again. Am I clear?" The muscles in the man's jaw bulge and he sneers, but he nods. "Good." Anna says, turning to the room as she continues with:

"This particular part of the agreement is only applicable for the first five years of the treaty, after which it will be automatically removed." The room visibly relaxes, and Anna barely contains the urge to roll her eyes. "Aaand that's why you need to let me finish each section before you start spitting on it." Anna berates under her breath, shaking her head as she turns back to the parchment in her hand. "Other than that, an adviser from each kingdom will travel to the other on a bi annual basis for the first five years, at which point it can be reviewed and edited to annually, but it can't be removed completely.

"As for the contract itself – for the original signing it is set in absolute stone for the first five years. After that initial amount, however, it will be put under review every two years. Now, this is very important; absolutely _no_ changes are allowed to be made outside the renewal stage, and only minor changes—of which is defined in small print in the contract—are allowed to be made when you _can_ edit it. Any major changes will render the contract void, and no contracts with more than sixty percent of the elements of this contract are allowed to be made for twenty-five years after this initial signing _or_ within two years of this contract being annulled, if it ever is." Anna finishes, setting the treaty on her desk. "Any questions or disputes?"

"Yeah." Jasper says, slowly. "Does that ship building contract section have to be in there at all? I mean, you have to admit it's a huge advantage to know the mechanics of the other kingdom's ships – it makes it easy to work a strategy around it."

"Not necessarily." Thayne says, in the same slow, thoughtful tone. "While you believe it leaves you vulnerable, the other kingdom is in the exact same predicament. So while we may know the capability of your ships, you also know the capability of ours – allowing us both to counter strategize based on obvious attack strategizes. It's actually an . . . oddly brilliant concept." Thayne says, eying Anna warily. Anna smiles, not giving anything away.

"The deal about trade is also strangely alluring."—The king murmurs, rubbing his lips in thought—"With our main exports being more prominently taken by Pryne then our minor exports we don't exhaust our materials, and it's all at a fair enough rate that we can easily keep up with our trade demands from other kingdoms."

"The whole deal is fairly demanding,"—the Iloian council member speaks up—"yet it's so strategically balanced in a way that makes it almost doable." He frowns, his eyebrows knitting in thought. "It seems that all this treaty really needs to work is the cooperation of both nations and it will be one of the most prosperous agreements either of our kingdoms have had in centuries."

"I must say that I agree." Arwyn says, shrugging when Thayne gives her a look. "I mean yeah, the ship building contracts will make the first five years a little tense, but it'll build an everlasting trust that will keep the contract afloat for many, many years." She turns to Thayne. "Even you have to admit that this is a once in a lifetime deal." Thayne stares at Arwyn for a good three seconds before pinching the bridge of his nose and sighing.

"Though I loath to admit it, I would be a fool to not see the potential." Letting out a controlled breath of air, Thayne chews on his bottom lip – his eyebrows knitting as he struggles through some internal battle. Tilting his head to Arwyn, but not looking at her, Thayne whispers; "if we do this, I want it set it stone – not left up to Pryne's king and his council." Getting the subtle hint, Arwyn smiles.

"I couldn't agree more." She whispers back.

Thayne nods and looks up to the Iloian table. "We're willing to sign if you are." He says. The three Iloians look astonished. Jasper is the first to break into a grin as he turns to the king, waiting for his answer.

For his part, the king shares a relieved, grateful smile. "I'm more than willing to sign." A round of applauds and cheers go up, unbelieving grins spreading over everyone's face. Anna and Arwyn lock eyes, and Arwyn smiles, sending the younger girl a thumbs up. Anna smiles back and nods gratefully.

Unheard in the noise, the chosen Prynian officer whispers to Thayne.

"A minor setback, but oh well. Thankfully your signature won't finalize it – so Iloa will be vulnerable when our king denies it." He says, keeping a keen eye on the room. Thayne sends the man a warning smile.

"Don't be so eager, soldier – I'm not the one signing it."

The man's eyes flash with alarm.

"Perfect." Anna says, smiling. "Then will the signee from either side please stand up and come to the front to read over the fine print."

As the man sees Arwyn start to rise, he shoots to his feet. Anna's eyes flash with alarm and the standby golems shift, getting ready to move in. Sensing the impending danger, the man gives the room a disarming smile.

"Well,"—he says, his voice as smooth as honey—"it seems my continual resistance has been for not, and for the better. I just want to formally congratulate both kingdoms for this great leap in our relationship with each other." There's some questioning looks, but other than that his announcement is taken well. He turns to Anna, his smile broadening. "And thank you for your patience and persistence – if it weren't for you we never would have gotten this far." Anna eyes the man warily, but she still smiles.

"Thank you. Now, if—"

The man smiles as Anna continues talking, but before Arwyn or the king can do anymore than stand, he pulls out a dagger hidden in his gauntlet and throws it.

Time seems to slow as Thayne rises to try to stop the action, as Jasper leaps to prevent the blow and as the snow golems mobilize to protect and subdue.

Time stills completely when, centimeters from the king's chest, ice springs from the table and encases it.

Everyone freezes, staring wide-eyed at the almost fatal blow, shell-shocked.

The moment is broken by a deep growl.

"Grab him." Elroy snarls, his eyes flashing with malice. The man instantly tries to resist, but he's easily overpowered by two snow golems grabbing his arms and slamming him on the table, then persist on holding him there.

"Unhand me this instant!" The man growls. His voice seems to reawaken the king from his stupor, because he glowers at the Prynian table.

"If you're so insistent on war, then I'll give you your damn war." He says, getting ready to turn and leave. Arwyn already standing, throws out her hand in an effort to make the king stop.

"Wait!" She begs, gesturing to the condemned Prynian officer. "We had no idea that he was planning. If we did—"

"You still would have allowed it." The king snaps, his face flushing red with fury. "Pryne never changes, and I shouldn't have expected as much. All you care about is violence, and if it takes us beating your fleet and land forces to show you exactly who you're messing with, then that's exactly what we'll do."

"That's not true." Arwyn persists, a distinct note of panic in her voice. "If it were, do you honestly think I would have stayed up last night helping Anna fine tone the treaty to make sure it was fair enough to both sides so that we'd both sign it today? Huh? No!" She spits. Thayne, after letting that hit home, slowly stands and turns to his second in command.

"You mean you were planning on signing this from the start?" He asks, a venomous tinge to his voice. Arwyn clenches her teeth.

"Yes, but— hey! I told you not to go anywhere!" Arwyn barks, turning her attention to the king. He glowers at the commodore

"You are in no position to order me." The king snarls, his lip upturning in a sneer. Anna raises her hands in a pacifying motion.

"Okay, everyone, why don't we all—"

"Shut up." Thayne snaps, before immediately turning his attention back to Arwyn. "So you knew what we were trying to achieve here yet you went behind my back—behind your _kingdom's_ back—to help create this? You have under minded—"

"It's a good deal!" Arwyn bites, glaring at her superior. "If I couldn't recognise this treaty's potential then I'd had to of been blind, deaf and stupid."

"Enough! You have—"

"Hey, guys?" Jasper says, his face noticeably paler than before. The room, hearing the hint of timid fear in his voice, quiet down—although reluctantly—and turn to him. Thayne, especially, gives him a dirty look.

"Spit it out." He says, his jaw muscles bulging as he tries to keep his anger from exploding. Ignoring this, Jasper shakily points to the ice still protruding from the table.

"I think you've made someone you shouldn't mess with very, very angry." He says, a slight tremor in his voice. Thayne frowns, his eyebrows knitting in annoyance.

"Freckles here brought tons of snow and ice with her, and I've seen my protector golem shift the design of their armour, meaning they can control ice. Why is that any different?" He asks, itching to just get back to chewing out his commodore. Jasper shakes his head slowly, his face becoming ever paler.

"I've only ever met one person who could do this, and I know for a fact that this turn of events would make her very cross." Jasper says, slow enough for the impact of the words to fully hit home. Almost everyone in the room blanches. Elroy lets out an irritated huff.

"Her majesty queen Elsa bestowed me with a portion of her abilities to keep Anna safe." He rumbles, giving the room an unamused stare that doesn't quite mask the rage swimming just underneath the surface. When Jasper doesn't look convinced, Elroy gives him a sharp look. "If her majesty were here, don't you think she would have frozen over the room already? Or _done something_ before now? Hmm?" Jasper still doesn't look sold, but he relents nonetheless.

"I suppose." He murmurs, a frown tugging at his lips as he glances back to the protruding ice. The king gives an exasperated hiss.

"Now that we're done worrying over nonsense, can we get back to the point that a Prynian just tried to _kill me?_"

"I already told you that we had no idea he was planning that." Arwyn snaps. Thayne whirls on her.

"Like I had no idea you were conspiring behind my back?" He accuses. Arwyn turns and stands toe-and-toe with her commander, glowering at him.

"I wasn't conspiring, I was pursuing matters of state that would be of interest to—"

"The only thing you were pursuing was your urge to fuck the princess!" Thayne condemns, spittle flying from his mouth. Fury lights in Awryn's eyes.

"Are war and sex the only two things you think about?" Arwyn shouts, her hands clenching into fists. "I—"

"Don't even try to turn this on me!" Thayne spits, a sneer spreading over his lips. "You know as well as I that you wouldn't have even given this treaty a second glance, let alone personal attention, unless you liked the negotiator enough to want to shove your fingers inside of her!"

Arwyn snaps.

She punches Thayne square in the nose.

The room is still as Thayne's head snaps back and he grunts, then gently coddles his broken, bleeding nose in his hands. Arwyn tactically backs away from him, standing just outside of his reach.

"What the _fuck?_" Thayne spits, the sound muffled by his gauntlets.

While those two continue arguing, the king discretely motions for Jasper and his council member to rise.

"Let's get out of here." He murmurs, careful to keep his voice down.

Anna, her head hanging and her hands tightly clutching her bangs, does nothing to stop the escalation of events.

"Oh, for fuck's sake." Elroy growls.

The next thing everyone knows, the temperature in the room drops to freezing and the doors ice over. Everybody stills.

"Let's start again, shall we?" Elroy says, much in the same tone as Anna on the first day. "Within this room Anna's word is law, but since you don't seem to give that much of a shit about them considering how readily you're all breaking them, I'm going to give you some new ones." In that instant the disguise falls away, leaving Elsa—in her formal royal blue with baby blue trimmed attire—smiling mercilessly. "Hello, I'm your new host and tyrant – my word is law and if any of you break it I will freeze you. Any questions?"

"_Elsa?_" Anna blurts, shock lacing her tone as she plays her part.

"We'll talk about when I got here later." Elsa grunts, waving Anna off as she turns to the king. "Firstly, you need to sit down." When he continues staring, dumbfounded, Elsa narrows her eyes. "Sit. Down." She snarls. He immediately obeys. She turns to Thayne and motions for him to move his hands. He does, tentatively. _Snap_. Thayne yelps as Elsa uses her ice to reset his nose. Elsa irritably lops him a snowball. "Use this to lower the inflammation." Without a second glance, Elsa walks up to the front and sits on the corner of Anna's desk. "Now, let's all be nice little lemmings and sign off on this treaty."

"Why?" The king asks, holding his own when Elsa shifts her splintering stare to him. He gestures to the Prynian table. "If they're attempting to kill us before this thing is actually signed, how can we trust them to uphold their end of the bargain?" Elsa jumps off the desk and turns, taking the last page of the treaty and Anna's quill. She neatly cursives more fine print onto the document before setting it aside to dry and dropping the quill. She turns back to the room.

"Because now Arendelle is a co-signer and official handler of all disputes for the first seven years. For example, this officer here just tried to kill you. If you sign off on this deal then the matter will automatically fall into Arendelle jurisdiction and we will punish the man accordingly. If this treaty were signed, I'd kill two birds with one stone by putting a sliver of ice in this man's heart, which will slowly spread until he eventually freezes solid." There's a few gasps, but Elsa ignores them. "The spreading would be slow enough that Thayne and Arwyn would have proof for their king of my presence here if he's an asshole about Arwyn signing a treaty instead of attacking, so they can say; 'but Elsa would have destroyed us if we attacked' and it's true, if you don't sign this I will. On the other hand, Iloa will get their justice by this man either dying or saving himself with an act of true love—which is highly unlikely—and redeeming himself."

One second. Two seconds.

"That's . . . that's a little harsh, don't you think?" Jasper asks, a frown itched on his lips. Elsa shrugs.

"By all rights his head should already be on the chopping block, so no – it's a very fair verdict; either he dies or he stops being an asshole. It's a win win no matter what ends up happening, really." Elsa says, her tone so causal it sets the hairs on the back of Jasper's neck on end. Arwyn clears her throat awkwardly.

"Not meaning to change the topic or anything, but exactly how long have you been here?" She asks, not quite able to meet Elsa's eyes.

"Long enough." Elsa replies vaguely.

"So . . . were you helping out Anna with the treaty in the background or . . .?" Arwyn asks, leaving the question open.

"No." Elsa replies briskly. "Anna didn't even know I came with her until, well, now. Besides the only reason I came was to ensure her safety – I had absolutely no intention of getting involved at all." She shrugs. "Guess that one didn't work out too well." Playing to the part that this is the first time she's revealed herself, she glances back to Anna. "Don't feel bad for not figuring it out – only two people in the entire kingdom actually knew what I was doing." Anna, also playing her part, gives Elsa a hard stare.

"You're my fiancée, shit bag – I should have been the first one you informed."

Elsa gives the girl a small, apologetic smile. "Sorry; I couldn't risk you having a slip and alerting the kingdoms that I'm out of Arendelle. If keeping under the radar wasn't so important, I would have told you." Anna, hearing this explanation for the first time, takes a moment to absorb it.

"Oh yeah,"—she murmurs—"people out to get us and all that." Elsa chuckles quietly at the simplified explanation.

"That's one way to put it, yeah." Elsa says, smiling gently. Arwyn watches the exchange in something akin to fascination. The moment is broken, however, by Thayne.

"So now what?" He asks, noticeably calmer but still with a distinctly bitter note in his tone. He pulls the bloody, melting snowball from his nose, trying to find a cleaner spot before trying to put it back on. Elsa merely dispels it and forms a new one in his hand. With thankful, wordless nod, he presses a dent into the snow and settles it back over his nose.

"Now the selected members are going to sign this treaty so we can all go home, _or_ you can choose not to sign and I'll freeze over the sea, barricade the fleets so no one can leave and plummet _all of you_ into a never ending winter; then I will proceed to go to Pryne and repeat the same procedure. If you choose the latter, I give it a month before you're all frozen out; if you choose the former, I see many prosperous years ahead of all of you. The choice—no matter how blatantly obvious—is completely up to you." Elsa says, crossing her arms over her chest. A moment passes.

"What if the Pryne king doesn't accept the contract, though?" The Iloian council member asks. "I mean, a high officer's signature is only a temporary fix until it's replaced by a royal's."

"That's not a problem." Arwyn says. The council member gives her a look.

"How can you be so sure?" He asks.

"She's part of the Prynian royal line." Anna says, finally speaking up. "So all we need is the king's signature, Arwyn's signature and Elsa's signature and—"

"My signature?" Elsa asks, surprised. "This is your deal – you're the one who had to supervise these bunch of children and create a treaty. Hell, the only thing I did was pop in at the end for extra incentive. Besides,"—she continues when Anna makes to protest—"I'm not technically suppose to be here, remember?" Anna makes to speak, then stops, thinking over Elsa's logic. Sighing softly through her nose, she relents with a small nod.

"Very well." She consents, turning her attention back to the room. "My signature will be the last, and once it's on the parchment the deal will be finalized and immediately put into effect. After which, the issue with I'm-a-stupid-idiot over there will be dealt with." The said man starts struggling and spitting curses, but the two golems hold him fast.

"Insulting the condemned is hardly professional." Elsa scowls lightly. Anna shrugs.

"If you hadn't of been here we'd have a dead king on our hands and would be facing all-out war, so I think I have the right to be a little bitter with him." She says, the acidic edge to her words barely concealed under her false joking tone.

"Hm. Right." Elsa murmurs, eying the girl warily before turning to the room. "His majesty and commodore Arwyn, please come to the front to read over the fine print."

* * *

Two days later.

Elsa—back in her Elroy disguise—looks over the sea from her vantage point at the end of the pier that houses the Royal Grace.

The water is clear of all foreign ships aside the one Prynian ship still docked.

Sighing gently through her nose, Elsa allows herself to relax for the first time since she heard about this conflict almost three weeks ago. She won't relax completely until they're sailing and clear of Iloian waters, but it's still something.

"Anna's held up by a crowd of happy citizens, if you're wondering where she is." Arwyn says, stepping up beside the masked queen. Elsa hums.

"I figured as much." She says. Arwyn laughs light heartedly.

"You don't seem particularly pleased by it." She teases, mirth sparkling in her eyes. Elsa grunts.

"She has a two day old stab wound in her leg and, knowing her, she probably decided to ignore my advice about staying on her horse so she could personally greet people."

"Well, that's hardly a leap of faith." Comes a voice from behind them. Elsa and Arwyn turn around to see Anna dismounting her horse and using Lila for support as she limps towards the two women. Elsa raises an eyebrow.

"So you're telling me that you didn't get off Leo and mingle with the crowd?" She asks. A blush dusts Anna's cheeks.

"Okay, technically I did, but I got back on Leo the moment my leg started flaring up."

Elsa sends the girl a incredulous look. "Your wound is _two days old_, Anna – it flares up even if you don't have pressure on it." Anna's blush reddens.

"So _maybe_ I overdid it a little, but seriously – how the hell was I suppose to ignore the people after I just saved them from war? They wanted to show their appreciation, so I let th—" Elsa raises her hand to stop the girl.

"I know, Anna." Elsa says, gently. "I may be a little over protective, but I get it. You don't need to explain yourself." Arwyn smiles gently at the display and nods, preparing to take her leave.

"I better go to my ship and get it ready to sail." She says.

"Wait." Anna says, grabbing the woman's arm as she passes. The princess smiles gently when the commodore turns to face her. "You didn't have to take my side with the treaty or defend it, and you didn't have to lag behind to help me clear up the matters of state between our three kingdoms, so thank you; I don't think I can express how much this means to me." Arwyn, overtaken by the gratitude, smiles broadly – joyful tears misting in her eyes.

"You deserved it." She states simply, before chuckling softly. "Besides, I also may have been motivated to lag behind so I wouldn't have to deal with Thayne giving me dirty looks for breaking his nose." Anna barks a laugh.

"Well, whatever your reasoning, I'm glad you decided to help." Anna says, sending the woman a dazzling smile that could make anyone weak at the knees. Arwyn clears her throat, trying to keep her composure. Elsa smirks internally at the sight.

"Stop being so damn stoic and give the woman a hug." Elsa teases, humour sparkling in her eyes. Before Arwyn can complain, Anna cheers happily and lunches herself at the older woman.

"Support me!" Anna squeals as she wraps her arms around Arwyn's neck, laughing as Arwyn grunts in surprise and immediately holds Anna tightly around the waist to keep pressure off the girl's injured leg.

"So much for warning." Arwyn mutters, but the effect is ruined by the smile plastered on her face. Anna chuckles and buries her nose in Arwyn's shoulder.

"That'd take the fun out of it." Anna teases, practically purring as she nuzzles herself into the commodore's tunic. Arwyn flushes, slowly swallowing the lump in her throat. She turns to Elsa for help but—despite the slight ping of jealously—Elsa is trying her best not to laugh at Arwyn's unease. Taking the hint, however, Elsa says:

"Alright you, let Arwyn go so she can get to her ship."

Anna groans, displeased, and doesn't bother raising her head from the comfortable crook that it's buried in as she murmurs:

"You better fucking visit."

Arwyn laughs. "Of course, princess."

"Promise?"

"Well, I've always wanted to see Arendelle, so it's kind-of a two in one deal. So yes, I promise." Arwyn says, smiling as Anna murmurs some muffled sound of the affirmative. "Go on, then." Arwyn whispers, gently transferring the girl back to the support of Lila. Elsa smiling gently.

"I wish you good sailing, friend." She says. Arwyn flusters and looks down to the dock, suddenly interested in watching her boot tap the planks.

"Okay." She finally chokes. She clears her throat in an attempt to rid it off the strangled quality. "Until we meet again, Els— your maj— comr— . . . I'll see you later." Turning heel, Arwyn speed walks down the dock and turns, leaving the two girl's sight as she heads to her own ship. Anna chuckles gently.

"You did that on purpose." She jibes, twitching a smile. Elsa smirks.

"I have no idea to what you are referring." Elsa says, a false innocence to her voice that makes Anna roll her eyes. Instead of addressing it again, however, the girl simply sighs softly through her nose.

"Are you okay with putting a sliver of ice in that man's heart?" She asks, a careful detachment in her voice. Elsa shrugs faintly.

"It's not like it's an immediate death sentence. I mean, there's still hope." Elsa responds.

"You know that that's unlikely given his personality, and you're avoiding answering my question." Anna says, her voice more demanding that before. Elsa breathes out slowly.

"I'll never be okay with it; just like I'll never be okay with all the death and destruction I caused during the war, but it was necessary. I knew it needed to be done, but I did it in a way that still gave him a chance – so while I might never be 'okay' with it, I know that I can accept it and live with it." Elsa says solemnly. She looks to Anna, who's gaze is faded and far away. "How about you?" Elsa asks gently. Anna's shoulders stiffen slightly, but she swallows and lets out a controlled, shallow breath.

"It'll take a while and, like with the war, the images will never really cease to bother me, but I'll manage." The girl sends Elsa a brave smile that nearly breaks the queen's heart. Anna lets the smile fall away and she stares out to the ocean. "It doesn't help knowing that all those men are going to be executed the moment our ship is over the horizon, either." Elsa has half the mind to say; 'most of them are maimed to the point that they probably welcome death', but decides better of it. It wouldn't help.

Instead, the two stand in silence, watching as the morning sun reflects off the water. Elsa hums gently. Anna smiles.

"Alright." Anna whispers, lightly hooking her arm around Elsa's, even with the ice and snow covering it. The girl gently rests her head against the ice on Elsa's upper arm. "Let's go home."

* * *

**A/N:** Just so you all know, I had an _alternate storyline_ (if Elsa never went with Anna to Iloa) that Anna had to marry Arwyn in order to secure peace. A year later Elsa would join a Pryne gladiator competition where the winner is granted anything they wish. When Elsa wins her wish-to have Anna-is denied, because if she were to take Anna Pryne would attack Iloa - so Elsa threatens to declare war on Pryne if they refuse her. Long story short, both Arwyn and Anna go back to Arendelle (still married) with Elsa and it's a big jumble of feels as they try to figure out their place within the castle and each other (because Elsa is literally a train wreck and Anna and Arwyn are confused as all hell). All and all, it would have been one of thee most depressing things you would have ever had to read (my heart hurt just _thinking_ about writing this. It'd be fun and I'd of loved to do it, but it'd be painful as hell).

If I had wanted angst and an aching heart (and the will to write 150 more pages), I would have chosen this story route instead of the one you've just finished.


End file.
